


to face unafraid the plans that we made

by Booklover1217



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: A little surprise resides inside, Christmas, F/M, Fluff and Angst, M/M, of course fluff and angst it's me!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-05-14 03:44:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 54,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19265233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Booklover1217/pseuds/Booklover1217
Summary: Two years ago Mike Wheeler made the biggest mistake of his entire life. He has been barely living since then, lost without the one person he had ever truly loved. But with the Christmas season and his friend's dragging him reluctantly home for the holidays could a bit of bad weather and the magic of the season change his life forever?





	1. Where are you Christmas? Why can't I find you...

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! God, it's been so long since I've done this or even put a word on paper...or screen. I originally came up with this idea last year in December...or the year before I can't remember...and then the dreaded writer's block hit me and I couldn't write a word for so long it was painful. This was obviously meant for Christmas...but I have finally finished it tonight and I couldn't wait five months to share it with you all, I'm way too excited. So I hope you all love it as much as I do. Missed you all so much and am so excited for the new season in only a few weeks!

Mike Wheeler stared moodily, eyes blank, at the swirling snow outside the car window, the wind slamming against his glass with muffled thuds, teeth clenched so hard he was surprised he hadn’t broken a tooth as he tried to drown out the sounds of his friend’s voices in the tiny car, stubbornly refusing to join in.

The car was moving at a frustrating crawl, Lucas barely able to see anything through the windscreen except a sheet of white, causing his frustration to only grow, resentment bubbling up inside him at how happy they sounded, laughing and joking, talking loudly over one another.

They’d dragged him from his dorm room six days before Christmas for this shit, freezing his arse off, stuck in this hell of a snowstorm, still over an hour from home after six hours sitting in this damn car. Why couldn’t they just leave him the hell alone? All he’d wanted to do was sit in his room back at school and forget this damn holiday even existed, eat junk and be miserable in peace. Was that too much to ask?

He didn’t even know where the hell they were, but it didn’t stop Lucas, Dustin and Will from being irritatingly cheerful. Even the carols on the radio seemed to mock him, even crackling as they were because of the shitty signal.

‘Ugh, thank god it’s winter break. If I had to look at another textbook, I swear I’d go permanently cross-eyed,’ Dustin said loudly, desperately trying to break the tension that had hung in the air, the awkward silence that seemed to stretch into eternity.

Lucas quickly jumped into the conversation, mentally shaking himself from the irritated dark fog he’d felt himself fall into since they’d picked Mike up, staring out into the swirling mass of snow that slammed against the windscreen, hands clenched on the steering wheel as he concentrated on not crashing, barely able to see a foot in front of him, grateful for the distraction.

‘You think that’s bad. My hand has become a permanent claw from writing cramps during exams,’ he said, lifting one of his hands off the steering wheel to shake it, giving a heavy, dramatic sigh.

Will flicked Mike a worried look in the mirror before replying, putting false cheer into his voice.

‘I had to work with ink for my final work. It was a comic strip and I’ve been trying to wash it out of my eyebrow for a week!’

Lucas and Dustin exchanged a look, smirking each other in the rear-view mirror in a way that made Will nervous, before they glanced back at Will who narrowed his eyes suspiciously at them.

‘Huh…I did notice some rather interesting marks on your neck there, Will...but I don’t think it’s ink,’ Dustin said, wiggling his eyebrows at him.

Will blushed bright red, slapping a hand to his neck that had become bared by his sweater to hide the dark red bruise, but was unable to keep the wide grin that slipped out from stretching across his face.

‘I knew it. Come on, Will, spill, spill, spill,’ Lucas chanted, reaching back to punch lightly at him, landing a blow on his leg with every word.

‘Alright, alright, stop, I’ll tell you,’ Will said, laughing, rubbing at his shin and pushing Lucas away with a good-natured scowl, ‘So you know that guy I told you about in my life art class. Well…. turns out I wasn’t imagining he was interest. He asked me out the last day of classes and we’ve been dating the last couples of weeks.’

‘Woo! Go Will,’ Dustin said, leaning into the back of the car and wrapping his arm around his neck, ruffling his hair with his fist, ‘I’m proud of you.’

Will laughed, shoving him away.

‘Glad you’re so happy I’m finally getting some action. God, I’ve missed this. I am so excited for this winter break. We have so much to catch up on. We should do all our usual traditions. Ice skating and sledding, Christmas Eve at the Arcade….’

‘Can’t wait,’ Mike muttered sarcastically, rolling his eyes, ignoring the little pang of guilt he felt as the car went silent, the tension that had only just begun to fade back stronger than ever. He was almost able to feel the hurt rolling of Will at his rudeness, seeing him stiffen up out of the corner of his eye, hands fiddling with the edge of his jumper.

He knew he was being horrible, but he couldn’t seem to stop. He could barely breathe with the hurt and pain that had its claw in his chest, like his lungs and heart had been ripped out, leaving an open, pulsing hole that never seemed to heal. He’d been empty, numb for almost two years, and he couldn’t help but want everyone else to be as miserable and numb as he was.

Lucas bristled in the front seat, inwardly seething. That was it. He’d had it with his damn asshole-ish attitude. He hadn’t said something nice or positive the whole damn trip.

‘Is there anything that would make you happy, Mike?’

Mike gritted his teeth, leaning forward to glare at Lucas, the resentment and anger that had been building inside him since he’d gotten into the car boiling and spilling over.

‘Excuse me? I didn’t even want to come on this stupid trip. You’re the ones who dragged me out. What did you expect me to be like? Suddenly all cheerful and festive,’ he spat out in a scoff, his tone bitter.

‘Guys, come on, please don’t fight,’ Will pleaded, his eyes wide as he glanced between the two of them, stomach tightening anxiously.

‘Every damn time,’ Dustin muttered under his breath, tugging on the hat that forever resided on his head, sighing heavily, beyond over both their behaviour. Couldn’t they hang out anymore without those two going at it?

‘You know what Mike? Just because you destroyed your own damn life doesn’t mean you have a lifetime pass to be a complete and utter dick…’

‘That’s enough’ Will snapped, pushing against the front seat, cutting off the words a moment too late. They had already done their damage.

Their eyes all swung towards Mike, jolting and swallowing hard as they saw the colour quickly drain from his face until he was as white as the snow outside, the anger that had twisted his face fading away until nothing remained but agony and grief that left his eyes dull and blank, even as they filled with tears.

Mike turned away, desperately trying to hide his reaction from them, digging his fingers hard into the flesh of his palm to ward off the hot tears that threatened to spill over, swallowing back the lump that had formed in his throat.

Dustin climbed into the backseat, squishing in between them, nudging his shoulder in a sign of solidarity, shooting Lucas a reproving exasperated look.

Way to forget the rule, dude, he thought silently, shaking his head. Since ‘the incident’, as they’d come to call it, such a simple, innocent word to describe the event that had shattered and altered their entire lives, they had lived by one rule. Never speak of it. And Lucas had just failed spectacularly.

‘Too far, man’.

Lucas lowered his head, squeezing his eyes shut for a second, insides twisting guiltily.

‘Mike, I didn’t mean…. I’m sorry okay? That was a low blow….’

Mike sniffled, running a shaking hand over his face, brushing away the few tears that had escaped despite his efforts, face feeling hot and tight as he looked up at them. The fight drained from him completely, leaving him feeling nothing but cold and miserable.

‘No, you’re right. I’m being a complete ass. I don’t mean to take it out on you guys, it’s not your fault, it’s mine. I did this to myself. And all that stuff about snowball wars and skating sounds fun. I’m sorry I’ve been like this since…’ he trailed off, unable to finish the sentence, pain lancing through him so sharply it left his chest aching.

Lucas was right. He had destroyed his life. Agony rippled through him as he thought of the emptiness that he had felt for the last two years and the gaping hole that awaited him in Hawkins’s, the very reason he hadn’t wanted to return. It taken his Mom begging him for almost an entire semester, and Dustin threatening to drag him by his legs down the hall if he didn’t cooperate, to even get him into the car. Because Hawkins’s no longer felt like home to him. Not without El in it.

El had left Hawkins’s two years ago, leaving nothing behind for them to even try to find her, disappearing as if into thin air. Left because he had broken her heart for reasons that he could barely remember and didn’t make sense to him anymore. If they ever truly had.

He was such a selfish fucking idiot. It was his fault and he knew it. It was the worst mistake he’d ever made. He could still hear her voice in his ear when he’d called her from his dorm room three months after he’d started college to break up with her, her voice thick and wet, shaking with tears, tone bewildered and terrified. Begging him not to do it. But he had ignored it, even as he felt his own heart shattering into a million pieces that had stabbed deep and left him bleeding and broken to this day.

_'Please, Mike, whatever it is.... we can fix it...please don't do this...I love you...' El sobbed, breath ragged on the other end._

_Mike closed his eyes, biting back his own sob that had become caught in his throat, determined to finish this. Missing her….it was taking up of all of his mind, he couldn’t concentrate on his studies, on making new friends and he knew if this kept going, he’d be running home to her within weeks and then what would he do? Be stuck in Hawkins’s for the rest of his life? Screw that. No, he needed to do this. He had to._

_'I'm sorry, El....but I can't do this anymore. I need to focus on school, and I can't when all I can think about is missing you. I have to go', he said hastily, feeling his resolve fading as he heard her slide to the floor with a thump, picturing her curled up against her bed, arms wrapped around her thin legs, hating that he was hurting her._

_'Mike.... no....please don't hang up...'_

_'I'm sorry. Goodbye El', he said, placing the receiver down with a click that seemed to echo in the air, snapping through the air with a sense of finality that made panic instantly rise up in Mike, locking every muscle in his body, regret quickly replacing the resolve he had been so sure of only moments before._

_Oh god, what he had just done? he thought, horror filling him._

In a matter of weeks his world had completely fallen apart. He couldn't eat, sleep, concentrate on anything but the aching hole left in his chest where his lungs and heart used to be. Where El used to live. It only took a month for him to realize that this pain and aching lonely feeling of wrongness would never be going away. He couldn't live without her. He needed to make things right.

He had driven all night to get back to Hawkins's, not stopping once, arriving sleep deprived, eyes heavy and mind racing frantically as he drove recklessly, basically ignoring the speed limits, something that would usually make him flinch, but he was determined. When he had arrived, he was barely awake, light-headed, adrenaline rushing through him as he raced down the non-existent path that he had memorised years ago to the cabin in the woods that the Hopper's still called home and knocked frantically. He didn't care that it was three in the morning, that they were probably asleep, and he looked like a crazy person. He just needed to see her, to tell her what a colossal mistake he'd made, that he was an asshole, and to beg her to take him back if he had to. He would do whatever it took to get her back, to get her to forgive him, if only she'd give him the chance.

He had listened, gasping for air, heart racing so fast he was distantly worried it would burst out of his chest, as the sounds of the locks clicking interrupted the silence and the door opened to reveal a grumpy looking Hopper, his greying brown hair sticking up everywhere, eyes red-rimmed and bleary with sleep.

Hopper had stared down at him for a long moment, before his lips twisted down into a pained grimace, eyes closing on a curse as he rubbed a hand over his face.

Mike opened his mouth to begin the speech he had worked on during the drive, to try and explain somehow, but something in Hopper's face made everything inside Mike go horrifyingly still, stomach churning sickeningly, as if some part of him just knew what his mind just couldn't grasp quite yet. Something was terribly wrong.

'I'm sorry, kid,' Hopper said, reaching out to grasp his shoulder, voice thick with sympathy and despair, 'you're too late. She's already gone.'

'Gone? Gone where?' Mike said, his voice rising, growing higher as dread slithered through him, taking him by the throat and squeezing hard.

'I don't know. She left about a week after...' he trailed off, clearly his throat awkwardly, turning his eyes away, trying to avoid saying it but the both knew what after meant. There was no need to put into words. It lived between them, an unignorable presence that had tortured him for weeks, that sucked the very air from his aching lungs ever since he'd broken things off.

'Well, just after,' he continued, voice thicker with emotion he tried to hide, 'She packed a bag, got in the car with Max and we haven't heard from either of them since.'

Mike stumbled back, his shoulders folding inward and beginning to shake, a sob escaping his chest as he reached up to pull on his hair, tears blinding him, chest heaving.

What had he done? What he had done? he thought over and over.

He didn't realise he'd said it aloud till Hopper pulled him against his chest like he had so long ago, when he'd revealed how he'd kept them both apart, the night they'd been reunited. But this was different. Because he'd lost her for good. He was never getting her back.

'I know, I know', Hopper muttered, rubbing his back roughly, his hold tightening. 'I'm sorry, Mike.'

'I've lost her. She's not coming back. I've ruined everything.'

'Don't say that. She'll be back one day; I know she will. She'd never go away forever. You just have to give her time. She loves you and she knew you love her, deep down. You'll have your chance to make this right, Mike. Trust me.'

That had been two years ago and there had still been no sign or word from El or Max since the night they'd left, not to any of them. When? When would he have his chance? He was beginning to lose all hope. El clearly didn't want anything to do with him and he couldn't blame her. He'd hurt her so badly she probably wouldn't ever forgive him. He'd broken her heart as surely as he'd broken his own.

He drifted back from his thoughts, catching the concerned looks the others were exchanging. Will sent him a sympathetic look, lip tilting up into a sad smile. It only made him feel worse. He hadn't been the only person to lose her because of his stupidity.

Will squeezed his arm quietly over Dustin’s, offering support silently, knowing Mike didn’t want false, comforting words or denials of his fault. Nothing could change what happened, but he hated to see Mike like this, holding onto all this guilt. He couldn’t be mad at him, though he tried in the beginning, when he had lost El, the girl who had become his sister, his confidante, the person he had always, other than his friend’s, felt he could be completely himself with, where he felt calm and safe. They had always understood each other, the things they’d went through and experienced, making them closer than friend’s, and more like siblings. They were each other’s safe place.

No, he couldn’t hate Mike. He punished himself enough, the guilt he carried almost crippling him in those early days. He barely ate, didn’t sleep, just continued calling her phone over and over, despite it always going to voice-mail, until one day it just stopped ringing, a cheerful voice telling it had been disconnected. And then he did nothing but cry, for days. He hated to see him like this and wished he could fix things for him. But it wasn’t possible.

‘Shit, Lucas, look out!’ Dustin suddenly yelled, pointing at a wall of white suddenly looming in front of their car out of no-where.

They all cried out in fright, the car tyres squealing as Lucas wildly slammed on the brakes, the car sliding across the road with a deafening mechanical groan, sliding across the road before miraculously stopping inches from the wall, throwing them forehead against the steering wheel and backs of the front seat. 

‘Ow,’ Dustin groaned, rubbing his head where it had slammed against the back of the front seat, while Mike shook his head, dazed, wincing as the seatbelt dug deep into his shoulder as he tried to sit forward to see what they’d almost hit.

‘Everyone okay?’ Lucas asked, blinking at them, stunned, slumped against his seat, forehead pulsing where’d it slammed into the steering wheel.

‘Jesus Christ that was close,’ Will breathed, pointing out the window, eyes wide, mouth hanging open.

They all followed his finger and found themselves staring in disbelief up at the giant wall of snow that had fallen across the road, so high it rose almost twenty feet above their heads, the roaring wind threatening to drop even more in their path home.

'Must have been an avalanche or something. Mum did say there'd been a lot of snow the last few days,' Dustin said, shaking his head incredulously, ‘A bit more than a lot.’

'Well we're definitely not getting home anytime soon', Mike said, glancing nervously out at the worrying amount of snow quickly beginning to pile up around them, showing no sign of slowing down.

‘What the hell are we going to do now?’ Dustin asked, grabbing the map they’d been using since they hadn’t been able to read the signs through the snow for the last two hours off the floor, scratching his head thoughtfully.

‘We can always go back to that motel we saw before…’ Will suggested but Lucas was already shaking his head.

‘That was over twenty miles back. The heater’s barely working now, we’d freeze before we even got there. And that’s if the road isn’t already blocked.’

‘We might not have a choice,’ Mike said, his expression grim, shivering as the heater gave one more sputter as if it had heard Lucas’s words before it died completely, the cold quickly seeping into the car.

‘Hey, how far do you think we are from Hawkins’s now?’ Dustin suddenly said, popping his head out from behind the map.

Will shrugged, being the one who’d been reading the map and keeping track of what little recognizable things they could make out.

‘I don’t know…about an hour?’

‘I think I know someone who lives close by here. Give me a second…’ he said, leaning over and rummaging through his bag, pulling out his brick of a mobile phone, and opened the door, stepping out of the car.

‘Dustin, it’s freezing out there,’ Will began, quickly interrupted by Lucas.

‘Yeah close the damn door.’

‘I was more concerned about him catching pneumonia or frostbite but yeah, by all means close the door,’ he said, rolling his eyes making Mike laugh and Lucas shrug, unashamed.

Dustin waved off his concern, already dialing, pulling his coat closer around him with a muttered, ‘Shit, it’s cold.’

The three of them exchanged looks before Mike quietly wound down the window to shamelessly eavesdrop, all leaning towards the small opening, their breath fogging in the frigid air that pushed through, ignoring it stubbornly.

‘Hey good-looking,’ Dustin said, all of them able to hear the grin in his voice, tone mock seductive as he lowered it a few octaves deeper, ‘What you are wearing?’   

Whatever the answer was made him burst out laughing, leaning back against the side of the car.

‘One day you’ll you tell me, Red.’

They could just make out the muffled voice on the other end that snorted and said, ‘In your dreams, Henderson.’

‘Since when does Dustin have friend’s he talks to like that?’ Lucas asked, bewildered.

‘I don’t know. It’s probably someone he met at school,’ Will said with a careless shrug.

Dustin wandered off a little bit away from the car, his eyebrows drawing together, arms waving in the air wildly, as he seemed to try to convince the person to let them come and stay.

Mike didn’t blame whoever it was if they were reluctant. It was a big ask to take in four strangers out of nowhere for the night.

All three of them perked up as Dustin’s voice came closer again, just catching the end of the conversation.

‘I owe you big time, red.’

‘You’re lucky I love you, Dustin, though I had no idea why. My roommate is going to kill me for this. It’s only the idea of the guilt I’d feel if your lifeless corpse was found frozen in a ditch somewhere that’s got me even saying yes.’

‘You’re right, I can feel the love through the phone. So warm and gooey.’

The girl on the phone laughed.

‘Shut up, idiot. I’ll see you soon. Just follow the directions I gave you and turn right on Edgar Road. It’s the only house there.’

‘Will do. Bye.’

Dustin climbed back into the car with a shudder, rubbing warmth back into his gloveless hands with a hiss, clothes slightly damp from the snow.

‘Bloody hell, it’s got to be in the minuses out there. I can’t feel my hair.’

‘When could you ever feel that?’ Will asked, raising an eyebrow, lips twitching with amusement.

‘It’s practically frozen solid!’

‘That might be an improvement,’ Lucas joked, smirking at him.

‘Ha-ha,’ Dustin said, shooting him the finger.

‘So, your friend’s alright with us coming to stay?’ Mike asked, letting out a sigh of relief when Dustin nodded.

‘Yeah, Max said it’s cool to stay until the road clears up.’

‘Max? As in our Max?’ Mike asked, surprised.

‘How many other Max’s do we know?’ Dustin asked, raising his eyebrows at him.

‘How come you have her number? No-one else does,’ Lucas said, crossing his arm over his chest, tone offended, jaw tightening.

‘I do,’ Will said, holding up his hand.

‘Maybe because we didn’t break up with her or have a weird romantic history thing with her best friend,’ Dustin said, voice placating, brushing snow from his hair distractedly, ‘She probably just felt weird giving it to you after everything.’

Lucas thought about it for a second, his lips pursed thoughtfully, before he gave a small sound of understanding. He got it. There break up was a decision they had both come to, Lucas deciding to go to school in New York, and Max planning to travel, slowly making her way back to Los Angeles to visit the dad she missed so much, but it had still been pretty awkward for the few weeks before they’d all left.

‘Wait, is El there?’ Mike asked suddenly, perking up in his seat, adrenaline pumping through his veins at the thought. El…if she was there he could…. he could try and fix things…. he could explain…beg if he had to….

His thoughts cut off abruptly as he saw Dustin’s face fall slightly, and shake his head slowly, lips pulling down into a sympathetic smile.

‘Not that she mentioned. I think they split off a while back. Sorry, Mike.’

Mike deflated, shrugging his shoulders dejectedly, running a hand through his hair, the hope that had flared inside him for just a moment disappearing as quickly as it come.

‘It’s okay. It was a long shot anyways.’

All silently deciding to not comment on the sadness that had seeped back into Mike’s voice, they all quickly put their seatbelts back on, and started the car back up, eager to get out of the cold and into someplace warm. They followed the directions Dustin gave them for the next twenty miles, letting out happy ‘woos’ when they pulled down a tiny lane and saw a brightly lit house at the end of the drive, quickly shutting off the car and scrambling to grab their bags.

It was a nice place, Mike thought as followed after Will to the front door, all four of them wading through snow up to their knees to the front steps. Definitely not something he expected Max to live in though. It was a tiny, two story cottage made of thick beams of wood, much like Hopper’s old cabin where…. he swallowed, barely able to think her name…where she had lived for that long year they were separated. It had a porch that wrapped around the entire outside of the house, snow covering the railing, with big windows that showed a warm and inviting living room. Two big, old oak trees sheltered the house from the worse of the snow falls, and an old red truck was parked in the open garage.

They stood at the entrance together, shaking and huddling together for warmth as Dustin rang the doorbell, stamping their feet to try and get warmth back into them.

The door swung open, and Max stepped forward, a wide grin creasing his cheeks, her characteristic bright red hair pulled into two braids on either side of her head, clad in dark green pajamas.

‘Hello asshole!’ 

‘Nice pigtails,’ Dustin chortled, and Max threw her head back laughing, yanking him forward into a hug.

‘Oh, shut up, jerk.’

Her face blanched, going paler than even usual, almost looking green, as she spotted Lucas, Mike and Will standing behind Dustin, her eyes growing comically wide. She shoved Dustin back, panic filling her, eyes darting around as she pulled the door closed slightly, as if hiding something inside.

‘Dustin, I thought you said it was only you!’

‘Why does that matter?’ he asked, bewildered, face scrunching up in confusion, ‘I thought it’d be okay.’

‘What? Are we not welcome?’ Lucas asked, offended, while Mike and Will hovered behind him, faces a little hurt.

Max blew out a frustrated breath even as she looked over her shoulder anxiously, moving her arms as if she wanted to block the entrance.

‘Of course, you are, don’t be stupid, stalker,’ she said, not noticing when Lucas jumped at the old nickname, his breath hitching slightly, ‘it’s just…’

She bit her lip, expression torn before she sagged, letting out a huge exasperated sigh, pushing the door open for them with a mutter so quiet they almost missed it.

‘I am so doomed.’

Mike glanced at Will out of the corner of his eye, eyebrows raised, completely baffled, waving a hand at Max. Will looked just as confused, his entire body jerking with a weird shrug, at a loss, as he adjusted his bag on his shoulder and followed after the others into the house.

The heat of the house washed over them as they stepped inside, all of them almost groaning as feeling slowly crept back into their limbs, stretching their sore and stiff muscles after hours sitting in the cold car. Mike glanced around curiously, surprised by how warm and inviting it was inside. There was a tiny area to remove snow gear, lined with jackets that hung on pegs and snow boots underneath, large comfy looking couches sat to the left, seated in front of a large grey stone fireplace where a fire blazed, crackling loudly in the silence. A dining room sat to the side, a large wooden table with six chairs surrounding it directly in front of the small kitchen where a pot boiled on the stove, the smell coming from it so warm and fragrant it made his mouth water, mixing with the smell of wood burning, the scent of coffee that lingered in the air and…lavender?

The smell had every muscle in his body relaxing, the tightness in stomach, the knot that had never seemed to fully go away since he’d found out she had gone two years ago loosening ever so slightly. Mike’s eyebrows drew together, hands shaking slightly as he felt his throat grow suddenly thick and tight with emotion he didn’t understand. What the hell? What was this place?

‘So, you live here now?’ Will asked curiously, glancing around as well, ‘it’s nice.’

‘Yeah…well, it’s not my place, it’s my roommates. Anyways, are you guys hungry?’ Max asked, her voice overly cheerful, pushing at Lucas’s back, shoving him towards the kitchen.

‘Max, what the hell?’ Lucas said, his wet shoes sliding on the floor, wrenching away from her hands, all of them watching them with wide eyes.

God, Max was acting weird. She was never like this, what was going on….

‘Hey Max, who was it?’ a voice suddenly called from the top of the stairs, an achingly familiar voice, sweet and high. They all froze in spot, Max letting out a loud curse, eyes swinging to the stairs.

‘Holy shit,’ Dustin whispered, as Mike spun around to see what they all were looking at it.

And everything inside him went still.

El stood halfway up the stairs, her honey brown eyes huge in her face that was quickly draining of all colour, wearing a bright blue dressing gown, looking like she wasn’t breathing. She was so beautiful, he thought, mind racing, unable to believe what he was seeing.

His knees buckled beneath him, barely hearing Will cry out his name, catching his arm, unable to sort the emotions suddenly rushing through him, leaving him weak. Shock, happiness, disbelief, guilt, pain, all of it mixing together until he couldn’t discern one from the other.

El! El was here, she was really here right in front of him. She’d been so close…all this time and he hadn’t known. 

‘El,’ he gasped out, hands shaking, breath shuddering out as his throat tightened, as he barely resisted the urge to run to her, to hold her and to never let her go but he couldn’t move, frozen to the spot, though every muscle twitched and strained with the need to just touch her, to be sure that she was real and warm and truly here.

‘Mike,’ El whispered, trembling, her voice cracking, as she stared back at him, her eyes full of pain and hurt that made his heart ache. She stepped back jerkily, her heart stuttering in her chest at the sight of him standing there, her chest feeling like it was splitting in two, unable to believe he was truly in front of her. 

Mike! Mike was here. Looking at her in wonder and…. love? A part of here seemed to suddenly come awake, burst into life, pure joy racing through her body. She wanted to run into his arms, to touch him, her fingertips itching to trace the freckles she could see even from her place on the stairs, to stare into his dark eyes, feeling the warmth and love of his embrace once more after so long.

Love? No, she must be imagining it, she said, shaking her head minutely, her heart clenching so hard it left behind an ache that seemed to bruise. He didn’t love her anymore. He’d broken up with her. He didn’t want her.

Tears filled her eyes, arms tightening around the precious cargo she held in her arms. Oh, why was he here? What was he doing here? Hadn’t he hurt her enough?

Mike watched as her chin wobbled as she took a step back, shifting her body slightly, the pain and hurt in her eyes making his heart ache, her arms tightening around something in them. His eyes moved down automatically, and he swore his heart actually stopped for a second at what he saw what she held within them, before picking up to a speed so ferocious he thought it would burst from his chest. Because El held a tiny baby in her arms. A baby with tight brown curls identical to El’s, her tiny, round body clad in a pale pink baby suit.

The baby let out a little disgruntled whine at the sudden tightness surrounding her, lifting her head of El’s shoulder to look around with sleepy dark eyes that quickly landed on them, widening a bit before her lips spread into a wide, gummy smile, chubby cheeks flushed and rosy, her legs kickingly excitedly, squealing loudly. Eyes that Mike had seen staring back at him in the mirror every day of his life.

‘El…who is that?’ Mike asked, his voice shaking and thick, a hoarse whisper that broke the silence that was so deafening it felt like a scream. El had a baby? She’d been pregnant when he’d…. Agony rippled through him at the thought, the guilt almost enough to cripple him at the realization of what he’d done. Of what he’d truly given up. He’d left her, left her all alone. He’d left her alone with their child. He’d given up everything he’d ever dreamed of and now…. she would never forgive him.

Please…please…. he thought desperately, not entirely sure what he was praying for, as he waited for an answer to the question he already, deep inside, knew.

Tears filled El’s eyes, her face crumpling, entire body softening as she looked down at the baby girl in her arms, closing her eyes as she breathed in her sweet, milky scent, gathering her courage, expression pained.

She couldn’t lie to him. She’d imagined telling him so many times, but in all her imaginings and hopes and dreams, she’d never pictured it like this. Clutching the baby tight in her arms, El opened her eyes and met his gaze, blinking back the tears that threatened to spill over, knowing if she started, she’d never stop.

‘This…. this is Tessa Joyce Wheeler…my…. our daughter…’

And it was with these words that Mike knew that nothing would ever be the same again.

 

 


	2. Gone away is the new bird....here is to stay is the new bird

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, guys, I am speechless! Thank you so much for all the amazing reviews, kudos and hits on this fic. You have no idea how much it all means to me, seriously. I smile so much when I read and see them. Here's the next chapter and I hope you like it just as much xx

It was like being gutted, El thought numbly, as she stood at the top of the stairs, her chin wobbling as she watched the emotions playing over Mike’s face, dazed and disbelieving, a feeling she understood all too well. It was like some creature had reached inside her chest, shoved it’s claws right under her ribs and yanked everything she needed to live right out, the way her insides ached with the need to run over there, to touch his face, his arms, any part of him she could.  
She tried not to blink, her traitorous heart stuttering at the sight of him, drinking in every new detail she could find, feeling Mike’s eyes on her like a physical touch, doing the same. 

His dark hair was shorter, cut almost brutally short though a small hint of the uncontrollable wave she had once- who was she kidding, still- adored remained by his ears and hairline, her fingers itching to push it back, to feel its softness once again. Her eyes followed the line of freckles that she knew resided on his left cheekbone, a constellation that she knew better than even her own face. He was taller too, would more than likely tower over her, not that he hadn’t before, she thought, ruthlessly pulling her lips back into a thin line when they tried to curve. 

What are you doing? She silently reprimanded herself. Have you forgotten what he did? He had left her, broken up with her over the phone, as if she, as if everything they had been and had had, had meant nothing to him. Just thrown away the life they had planned together, all the dreams and memories and history they had. No, she couldn’t just let him in again. She couldn’t let herself be hurt like that again, couldn’t go back to crying all the time, the hole in her chest he’d left behind only having just started to heal, to inch itself back together. She had to be strong. 

Not just for herself, she thought, nuzzling her face against her daughter’s as she took a deep breath, chin lifting minutely, drawing all the courage she had. She was a Mama now. She had Tessa to think of. She could do this. 

Mike barely dared to breathe as El walked down the stairs, scared that if he had made a single wrong move, if he even breathed wrong, that the moment would shatter and that she would disappear again, as if she never even existed. 

God, how had she gotten more beautiful? He thought desperately, his head spinning dizzily, struggling to even comprehend that this was real, that she was here right in front of him, holding her daughter. Her light brown curls were longer than he’d ever seen them, falling almost to her waist, as wild and untamable as the girl herself. Her honey-brown eyes watched him unflinchingly, holding shock, fear and a pain that made his chest clench so tightly his ribs ached, causing him to flinch. They seemed to hold something new in them, a newness that seemed both ancient and youthful, as if she held new knowledge he would never hold, as well as a wariness that he hated, like she was just waiting for him to leave, to abandon her again. She was curvier also, a change Mike absently knew came from her newly discovered motherhood, one that he marveled at, changes made because she’s brought her daughter into the world. No, their daughter. 

Their daughter! They had a daughter, a little girl named Tessa- after her Mom, he realized with a pang of sadness and love for her, because of course El would honor the woman who had brought her life, even if she’d only had her for such a short time as well as the woman who had become her Mom, the first to show her how a parent should truly act, to offer comfort in the home-made Bath so long ago when she’d been searching for Will- who looked so much like both of them. The perfect mixture with El’s dark brown curls and wide round eyes and her sharp, impish point of a chin, but with his dark midnight eyes and pale skin, his almost non-existent eyebrows and tucked back ears. There was no denying it. She was theirs and she was beautiful. 

He had a daughter and he had left her, right alongside El. Oh, what had he done? He had missed so much; he had lost so many moments with them both all because of what? His stupid, selfish reasons that no longer made sense to him? How could he ever think that missing El was enough to break things off, that the whole “college experience” was more important than her? How could he ever get her to forgive him? How could he ever make it up to her? 

‘Well…I thought you were hiding something, but I definitely didn’t expect this,’ Lucas muttered to Max as her, Will and Dustin all stared between the two of them, unable to believe what they were seeing. 

Will nodded his head absently, gaping. Mike and El had a baby! His sister and his best friend. He…. he wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about that. He was an uncle! Everything was suddenly so different, and yet the same. His friend’s, who had always been so much ahead of the rest of them, who had fallen in love at an age that the very idea of felt like an icky, abstract concept, had once again moved past them all, into a place he couldn’t even comprehend. They were parents. 

Happiness bubbled up inside him for them, a happiness that very quickly stuttered out a bit as he looked at them as they stared at each other silently, the pain and longing etched onto both their faces making his whole body ache, and remembered how far apart they still were, how many misunderstandings and hurts and challenges lay between them. 

‘I’m so sorry, El, I swear I didn’t know. I thought it was just Dustin, but I couldn’t just leave them outside….’ Max said, her voice shaking with panicked tears as she stepped forward, looking stricken, wringing her hands in front of her. 

El shook her head, blinking as if coming back from faraway and turned to look at Max, her lip twitching up into a quick, absent smile. 

‘It’s okay, Max. I’m alright, I swear.’ 

‘We....we’ll give you two a minute,’ Lucas said, looking at them, sensing they needed a moment without all of them gawking at them like idiots, worrying his lip between his lips before he looked to Max for guidance, raising his eyebrows. 

‘Oh right,’ Max said, jumping and nodding her head, waving at them to follow her towards the kitchen, giving El a quick, searching look as Will and Dustin followed her, sliding the wooden barn door that hung off the frame across it to give the two of them a semblance of privacy. 

They stared at each other for the longest moment in the sudden silence that seemed to thicken and sizzle around them. This used to be so easy, El thought, a little devastated at how tense and on edge she felt around Mike now, when before it’d been nothing but ease and comfort and joy. 

She shook herself mentally out of the thought, straightening her shoulders as she looked at Mike and jerked her head to the side, silently telling him to follow her as she walked towards the living room off to the side, patting Tessa’s back as she kissed her head. 

‘Here you go, sweetheart,’ she said, smiling as she put her down into her wooden play-pen beside the couch, reaching over and handing her her favorite stuffed bunny, waving it in the air above her head, grinning when Tessa let out a loud squeal, grabbing at it with her chubby arms, immediately bringing it to her mouth. 

She stiffened when she felt Mike behind her and turned around, resisting the urge to tug on her pale blue pajamas, feeling self-conscious for the first time since they’d known each other, hating how vulnerable and exposed it left her feeling, wanting to cover up, to somehow hide from his eyes that had always seen everything, inside and out. 

She felt her powers stirring to life inside her, a subtle shifting that didn’t bode well for the conversation she knew was coming, building and building into a hailstorm she knew she wouldn’t be able to control for long. She clenched her fingers as if she could physically hold it back, to keep the leash she hadn’t felt this out of control in so long from snapping. If she didn’t get it under control…there was no telling what she would do. 

How dare he! How dare he stand in front of her, looking so calm and unaffected. How dare he come back like this after everything he done. 

Mike stood in front of her, his fingers shoved deep into the pockets of his still damp jeans as he watched her, having barely resisted the urge to protest as she placed Tessa in the pen, hating her being out of sight for even a second, to hide how bad they were shaking. His heart raced so hard he was afraid it was going to burst out of his chest, leg twitching, fear and misery sitting heavily on his chest like a stone. 

He didn’t even know how to start this conversation. How on earth was he supposed to explain actions he didn’t even truly understand? But he knew he had to try. She deserved answers…and when she had them, he could only pray, beg whatever gods or deities existed that after everything she somehow forgave him for breaking them. That she, by some miracle, gave him a second chance and still wanted him as bad as he wanted her. 

He swallowed hard as he took a small step towards her, reaching out a shaking hand to…. he didn’t know what, desperate to get her to speak, to say even a single word to him. 

‘El…’ 

It was that one word, her name spoken so softly, filled with so much agonizing misery, misery he had no business feeling, that caused the leash to snap completely, and El couldn’t stop the wave of magic that spiraled out of her, all the anger and hurt and pain she’d been keeping bottled up inside her for two years, the longest years of her life, bursting.  
She threw her hands out, watching with no small amount of satisfaction as Mike was pushed back, ignoring the tiny tendril of guilt that tried to arise at the shocked look on his face, not caring as she stepped forward to push him with her hands instead, needing to feel it when she landed the blow, wanting so desperately, not even understanding the need, to hurt him just as he’d hurt her.

‘Don’t El me, Mike Wheeler! Who the hell do you think you are? How dare you come here. After everything…how did you even find me? Why couldn’t you leave me alone?’ she yelled, her voice shaking, her eyes burning as tears threatened to run down her cheeks. 

Mike flinched back from her accusations, the lights flickering above them, a wave of agony rolling through him, his head pulsing emptily, struggling to speak, fear and horror rushing into him, a quiet part of him devastated to realize that he was no longer used to her powers, that he had forgotten. His eyes flickered to the baby for a second and found her happily chewing on her stuffed rabbit’s ear, watching them curiously, obviously used to it, not concerned in the least.

‘I…I didn’t know, I swear. We got snowed out of Hawkins’s on our way home for Christmas, and Dustin said he had a friend he knew who lived nearby and asked if we could stay. He forgot to mention it would be all of us. But…what are you doing here, El? I thought…. I thought you were gone. How long have been you been living here, so close to home? Why didn’t you tell anyone you were coming back? What the hell, El? We had a baby together and you didn’t even tell me? How could you keep that from me?’ he said, quickly feeling the pain and panic bubbled into something else, into a fury and devastation that exploded out of him, though he desperately tried to hold it back, not wanting to make things any worse. 

He knew he had no right to be angry, but he didn’t understand. How could she keep this from her? How could she keep his daughter from him? If she’d given him a single hint of where she was, even if she’d been halfway across the world, he would have gone to her. Didn’t she know him at all? The hurt dug deep into his chest, squeezing hotly.

‘What the hell are you talking about? You know damn well I tried to tell you about Tessa. I tried to tell you dozens of times. Don’t pretend you didn’t know. You don’t just get to suddenly decided you’ve changed your mind and come looking for us. You didn’t want us nine months ago when she was born, or when I was pregnant. You made it clear you didn’t want me…us.’ 

‘What the hell are you talking about?’ Mike asked, completely bewildered, eyes going wide and panicked as he began to pace, his movements frantic and jerky, ‘‘I never stopped wanting you El, that was the problem. You’re everything to me. I didn’t know where you were, you made sure of that when she ran off and never contacted anyone. How could I know where to find you or about Tessa? You just disappeared.’ 

‘Don’t lie, Mike. I told you in the letters I sent you where we were. But you never answered. I left you dozens of messages as well. Why didn’t you call me back?’ El said, her voice hitching slightly, cursing herself inwardly, angrily dashing at the tears that spilled down her cheeks, sniffling, annoyed with herself for letting him see her like this, seeing how much he’d hurt her. 

‘What letters? What calls?’ Mike asked, gaping at her, so confused he thought his head was going to explode, his expression wild, feeling completely lost. What the hell was she talking about? 

El faltered, her anger fading slightly as she saw the genuine confusion on his face, despair and her own confusion rolling through her, flickering across her face as she answered. 

‘I wrote and called you to tell you about Tessa. For months after I found out. I left you message after message and you never replied once. And then….and then the last time I tried your roommate answered and said you’d thrown them all out, that you were out on a date and I should you alone and move on already. That you…you didn’t want me anymore,’ she said, gasping out a sob, wrapping her arms around herself as if trying to hold herself together, looking so young and pale and broken Mike’s heart shattered in his chest. 

Mike’s eyes widened, his heart dropping to his feet as sudden, horrifying understood filled him, and he almost dropped to his knees. Terror gripped him by the throat, as he remembered the smug looks his prick of a roommate had given him for weeks after he’d returned from Hawkins’s, ones that had perplexed him even through the thick layer of misery he’d been carrying around, barely able to function through its fog. 

Fury roared through him and he gritted his teeth, barely holding back the scream that threatened to rip from his throat. That bloody prick! He’d known the guy had hated him, hated him from the moment they had met all because the school had assigned them as roommates instead of the friend that he had originally asked to be roomed with, something Mike couldn’t control. But this? This was pure spite. How could he do this to him? He’d stolen his chance to fix things with El, to make things right to her, to see his daughter be born and take her first breath and to see her grow, just to get back at him for something he hadn’t even had a say in. Because he hadn’t been able to get his own way, a childish tantrum that had destroyed his life more than he’d probably even imagined possible. He’d missed nine months- more because of El’s pregnancy- of his daughter’s life. 

Mike let out an almost inhumane sound of pain, his fingers curling into a fist, wanting, needing to hit something, to do anything to ease the agony that was tearing through him. Anything would hurt less than this, this knowledge, this loss. 

He reached out for El, throat clenching when she stumbled back, her chin wobbling, cheeks wet and stained with tears, her curls sticking to them. His heart sped up in his chest, breath coming in sharp, unnatural gasps, panic and desperation closing his throat. Fear of losing her again before he’d even gotten a chance to explain made him rush to speak, to explain, the horrifying realization that she had thought he knew and didn’t care making his words shake and stutter. 

‘I didn’t know, I swear on my life, I didn’t know El. Not any of it. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I fucked everything up. I never got them, not any of them, I swear. If I had…nothing could have stopped me from coming to you or her. I screwed up, okay? It was the biggest mistake I’d ever made breaking up with you. I didn’t mean any of it.’ 

‘Why did you do it then? Why did you break up with me?’ she gasped out, her heart speeding up at his words, some of the pain and fear churning her insides beginning to fade, replaced with complete and utter shock. Could…could it be true? Did he really not know?  
Mike squeezed his eyes shut before opening them, swallowing hard, his dark eyes clouded with so much pain El’s hand lifted, reaching for him before she quickly yanked it down, not ready for that kind of thing yet. 

‘I never stopped loving you, El. I screwed up. I thought it’d be easier to lose you than miss you. It was like missing a limb, like part of me was missing and I couldn’t cope at school without you. I couldn’t concentrate on anything but missing you.’ 

‘And was it? Easier?’

His breath shuddered out, almost a sob, his eyes filling with tears as he shook his head. 

‘No. It was a thousand times worse. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t breathe thinking about what I’d done to you, what I’d done to us. I felt like I didn’t even have a heart anymore without you with me. I can’t lose you again, El. I don’t think I’d survive it. I love you.’ 

A whimper escaped El at the words he’d spoken to her so many years ago, during another reunion, and the words she never thought she’d hear again. He loved her. How could this be real? After so long wanting, longing to hear those words, they were here, this was real. Mike was here and he loved her. 

El felt herself burst into tears, burying her face into her hands, unable to cope with all the emotions bombarding her, as she felt the walls she’d built around her heart to keep herself protected from hurt shatter completely, leaving her open and vulnerable in a way that terrified her. 

‘No, El, please don’t cry,’ Mike said, even as his own tears rolled down his cheeks, pulling her gently into his arms, heart aching as he felt her struggle feebly for a second before melting into his embrace, burying her face in his chest as she sobbed, every gasp, every hiccup of her breath causing another part of him to crack and splinter, hating that he’d put her through this.

He brushed at her wet cheeks that were soaking his shirt, holding her tight, freezing as he felt her arms lock around his waist, holding him just as tight. He never wanted to let go. 

El burrowed her way closer to him, his touch so familiar and full of comfort, the smell of him just the same as the last time he’d held her, the mint of his shampoo, the sweet vanilla smell of his clothes and the distinct, earthy scent that was just Mike, that reminded her of bike rides in the sun, summers by the pool, nights at the arcade and in the basement of his house playing D & D, of sweet, soft kisses, his hand always holding her own. That reminded her of home. 

It just felt normal, Mike thought as he pressed his face to her curls, breathing in the lavender scent of her, the smell of his heart and his home. It felt right, as if they’d never been apart and nothing had ever changed. And maybe…in the most essential, intrinsic way, it hadn’t. Maybe it didn’t have to be weird or awkward. It could be just this, them. The way it was before and was always meant to be. Maybe…maybe this was fate giving them the chance to start again. Giving him the chance to make it right, to fix things. The second chance he had prayed for. 

‘If you give me another chance, El, I swear I’ll never hurt you again. I was stupid…a moron…a wasteoid…’ 

‘A mouth breather?’ El asked, lifting her head off his chest, her lips curling up into the half-smile he’d first begun to fall in love with when he was thirteen, the day he’d shown her his father’s armchair, and felt a bit of hope spark to life inside him, his lips curving upwards in response.  
‘I know you must hate me, and I don’t expect you to believe me or trust me…’ he said, turning his head away to hide the sudden tears in his eyes, refusing to cry. He would not cry in front of her. She deserved better and if she didn’t believe him, if she didn’t want to see him again, he would understand. 

‘I do. I believe you, Mike,’ El said, her heart aching, stepping back slightly to look up at him, her face crumpling slightly at the fear in his face, reaching her hands up to wipe at the moisture that still clung to his lashes, her breath catching in her throat as he leant into her touch. ‘There’s been so much that’s gone wrong between us, things and people that caused all this confusion and pain, including us. You broke my heart, Mike but I could never stop loving you. I tried to, I really really wanted to, but I couldn’t bear the thought of losing even more of you, the one bit I thought I had left. Loving you is a part of me. I couldn’t ever hate you. I don’t know if we’ll…if we’ll ever be the same as before but I’m willing to try.’ 

‘Really? You’re sure?’ Mike asked, blinking at her, stunned, unable to believe the words he’d just heard. It all felt too easy, he felt undeserving of her easy forgiveness. Of her love. 

‘I’m still mad,’ she said, raising an eyebrow at him, almost warningly, almost grinning when she heard him gulp audibly, ‘I probably will be for a long time. You really hurt me, Mike. You broke my heart and it’s probably going to take a while for me to completely trust this, to trust that you won’t run off again and leave me, to get over the hurt. But I know it’s not all your fault either. It’s mine as well for not fighting hard enough on seeing you. I shouldn’t have given up, taken his word for it. I don’t want to lose another moment of us. We’ve lost so much time already.’ 

She shook her head when Mike’s face grew indignant at her words against herself, eyebrows drawing together, mouth opening to protest. She pressed her finger to his mouth, her face blushing as his eyes widened at the intimate action, quickly snatching it away as her face grew warm, cheeks flushing bright red, watching as his did the same, going red as a tomato.

El curled her fingers into a fist, feeling the heat of his breath imprinted on her skin and shivered slightly, taking a shuddering breath before continuing, her heart racing in her chest. 

‘I want to start again. We have Tessa now and I want her to have her father and I…I can’t lose you either, Mike. I love you too. It’s been a long time and there’s a lot of things we have to get through so let’s try being friends again first, work on things, getting to know each other again, and see what happens.’ 

Mike nodded quickly, his head bobbing almost frantically with the motion. 

‘Okay, friends.’ 

He would agree to anything she asked if it meant they had a chance again. They loved each other, she still loved him and wanted him just as much as he did her. Now they just had to heal. They were together again, and he would make sure that nothing tore them apart. 

El smiled at him, curling back into his touch again, sighing as she felt his arms tighten around her again, feeling warm and loved and complete. She felt something loosen inside her, feeling his breath on her head, and his heart hammering against her chest, until it slowed slightly as if trying to follow the rhythm of hers. 

I will never leave you again, Mike promised them both silently, running his hand up and down her back as they began to rock slightly, neither of them wanting to move, just enjoying the other’s warmth and the familiar feeling of their bodies pressed together, one they both had almost forgotten. He had lost her too many times, from fate’s horrible scheming grasp to his own stupidity and arrogance, and he would never let her go again. Not when she was finally back in his arms. He loved her and he always would. He felt like he was finally whole again, like he finally had his heart back, because it to her so long ago, just as she’d given him his. 

And now he had Tessa, his daughter, the thought still one that stunned him at the same time as it made something warm and a love that he’d never felt before, unconditional and protective and so overpowering he thought it would drown him. He did not want to miss anymore moment with her. He’d already missed so much. No more messing up or being an idiot. This…this was forever. Forever with his girls. He liked the sound of that. 

‘I missed you, El’ he murmured, rubbing his cheeks against the top of her head. 

El sniffed, breathing in the smell on his jacket, pressing her face there, entire body shaking with joy. 

‘I missed you too, Mike. So much.’ 

Mike tugged her closer, pressing a lingering kiss to her temple. 

‘I’m not going anywhere again. I promise.’ 

A loud, indignant squawk suddenly broke the quiet bubble they’d created making them both jump, Mike’s eyes widening and arms lifting as if to fight something while El laughed, pulling away and walking over to the play pen where Tessa stood on wobbly legs, holding onto the frame, babbling loudly, tone annoyed and demanding. 

‘Oh, I’m sorry, were we ignoring you, sweetheart? Silly us,’ El said, her voice going high and sweet as she reached in and lifted her out, pulling a silly face that had a gummy grin breaking out over Tessa’s face, earlier annoyance immediately forgotten. 

Mike heart suddenly sped up again, his hands sweating as he stared at his two girls, eyes inexplicably drawn down to his daughter, suddenly more nervous than he’d ever been in his entire life. More than when he’d first drawn up the nerve to kiss El for the first time or when he’d asked Hopper for permission to take her to the Snowball. 

‘Can I…’ he swallowed past the sudden tightening his throat, anxiety making him feeling big and clumsy, ‘Can I hold her?’ 

El’s eyes softened even as they lit up, as if it was the best question he could have asked her, a wide smile spreading across her face as she nodded.  
‘Of course. She’s yours too’, she said as she adjusted Tessa before carefully placing her in his arms. 

Mike juggled her awkwardly for a second, surprised by how heavy she actually was, feeling overly clumsy, suddenly terrified he was going to drop her. He quickly settled her on his hip, as he’d seen El do, as she begun to grizzle and wiggle, his heart racing, panic easing slightly as she settled comfortably, her tiny fist curling into his bright blue jacket. 

Tessa stared up at him, her lips pursed slightly just like his did when he was concentrating, chubby cheeks flushed and warm against his arm as she tilted her head at him, dark eyes studying him so intensely he felt exposed. Almost as if she was trying to figure out who he was…if he was worthy. Tears pricked his eyes as her face suddenly split into a wide, gummy grin, beginning to babble endlessly, patting at his face, demanding his full attention. As if he could be focused on anything else in this moment. 

He cradled her tiny head in his hand, his heart feeling almost full to bursting as he pressed his nose to her head, breathing in the sweet smell of milk and baby powder that clung to her.

‘Hello baby,’ he whispered, lips trembling as his whole body began to shake, unable to control the tremors that wracked him. 

‘Bub bah bah bah…’ 

‘Really, Miss Tessa, tell me more,’ El said as she stepped forward, running a hand over her curls with a smile that was softer than any Mike had ever seen on her face before, that seemed both ancient and young and new and everlasting, the pure and unconditional of a mother for the child they’d created together.  
If that look alone didn’t take his breath away, her next words did. 

‘This is your daddy, Tessie. Say hi.’ 

Mike’s heart stopped before beating double time, breath catching in his chest even as a warmth seemed to grow in his stomach. Tessa didn’t seem to sense the sudden change in the room as Mike froze, arms locking around her, continuing to babble at him in that baby speak that remained a complete to mystery. At least for now. 

The reality of it of it suddenly hit him and Mike felt weak, as if his entire world had suddenly rocked even more on its axis. This was real. He thought he would burst with the joy that roared through him. He was a dad. This was real. He had a daughter, a daughter that their love had created that he was going to have the chance to raise, to watch grow up, to teach about the world, to teach right from wrong, to protect as she grew. A little girl he could teach how to ride a bike, how to play D & D, to take to her first dance, to take to all the places he’d loved as a child. A child to love. 

I will do better than my parents. The thought flitted through his mind and he lifted his chin, resolve and determination filling him. I promise you, baby girl, I will never make you feel like you’re not enough, you will always be able to come to me, I will never abandon you emotionally like they did me. You will always be enough for me, Tessa. Always.  
El lifted her chin off where she’d been resting it against his arm to smile up at him, jolting when she saw the peculiar look on his face that had gone as pale as the snow outside. Oh shit. Had she just freaked him out completely? Was he not ready for that yet? 

‘Mike…I’m sorry…are you okay? If you don’t want to be called dad…if you’re not ready for that yet…’ 

Mike quickly shook his head, halting her words, swallowing past the sudden lump in his throat and giving her a tremulous smile. 

‘No, it’s okay. I…I love it,’ he said, running his hand over Tessa’s tiny fist as her eyelids fluttered shut, her breath smoothing out as she rested her hand against his shoulder, beginning to slip off to sleep. 

El’s smile was beatific as she leant even closer and heavier against his side, tracing her fingers over both his and their daughter’s knuckles. 

‘Tell me about her. I want to know everything,’ he said quietly, tone almost pleading as he turned his eyes to hers.

El nodded, taking his arm and leading him over to the couch for them to sit, getting comfortable. She didn’t let go off his hand though, tangling their fingers together, as if afraid if she let go he’d disappear, reassuring herself he was still there. That he was not going anywhere. 

‘She was born on the eleventh of March,’ she said, shooting him a rueful smile, his own mouth slipping into a smile. The eleventh. What were the chances of that? 

‘It was the rainiest day we had that whole spring. I had her in this room actually. Never quite made it up the stairs she came so quick. Our girl is very impatient, I wonder where she got that from?’ 

She raised an eyebrow at him, and he snorted. 

‘I don’t know. We waited a whole year….’ 

‘353 days!’ 

‘…to see each other again. I’d say we’re both pretty patient.’ 

‘You might be. I gave Hopper hell for making me wait and keeping me from you. Poor Dad’, she said with a laugh. 

‘Does he know?’ he asked, gulping slightly as he eyed the front door nervously, imagining Hopper bursting through the door, more than aware that he had a gun, something he had been reminded of many times throughout the years they’d been dating, and she’d been living under his roof. 

El’s face grew sad and she ducked her head to stare down into her lap, plucking at her sweater with her free hand. 

‘No, I…I couldn’t tell him. I knew he would be supportive and help me but…I also knew that if he found out he would want me to go home and I…I wasn’t ready. It still hurt too badly, was too fresh, and the idea of going home without you there…with all our memories waiting…I couldn’t do it.’  
Mike wiggled his arm and wrapped it around her, squeezing her hand hard, offering his comfort in any way he could, guilt rising again. What else had been stolen from her because of everything that went wrong?

‘Joyce knows though. She’s the only one from home who knows. She actually delivered her. Max helped as well but I think she just ended up traumatized more than anything. We called her when I went into labor and swore her into secrecy. She comes and visits whenever she can. When Tessa was born she…she was the most gorgeous thing I’d ever seen,’ she said, caressing her warm back where she lay sleeping against his chest, completely trusting and sweet.

She didn’t miss the way Mike’s face lit up as she wiggled closer in her sleep, a tiny snore escaping her, the love he already held for her written all over him making everything inside her melt. 

‘Here, I’ll show you’. 

She scrambled away from his side, walking over to the mantle of the fireplace and pulled a small frame down, holding it to her chest as she walked back to him, hiding it from view. She sat down beside him again, curling her legs underneath her as she placed it into his hand. 

Mike’s breath caught in his throat, his fingers twitching on the frame, almost dropping it as he took in the photo cradled in the frame, unable to look away. 

She was so tiny. He thought she was little now but seeing her there in black and white, wrapped in a white blanket, she looked like she’d barely fit into his hand, a tiny bitty, delicate creature that looked too fragile for this world. Her face was crinkly and still a little swollen from birth, a heap of black hair sticking up around her head like a messy halo, her lips pursed and eyes tiny slits, completely unaware of how unexpected and precious she was. 

‘She’s…I have no words,’ Mike breathed out, completely in love, even as a tiny piece of his heart cracked that he’d missed holding her like this, missed seeing her open her eyes for the first time, and holding El’s hand, being there for her, while she gave birth to her. But he had now. He had her in his arms now. He couldn’t change the past, but he could be here now and forever after that. That was all that mattered. 

‘She was seven pounds and eight ounces and came out screaming at the world, with the grumpiest little face. I laughed every time I looked at her those first few days, she seemed to be telling me off. She rolled over at the first time at six months and her first word followed not long after that, which was bub, and then Mama, then dog and then Max…she was so pissed she came after dog’.

Mike laughed along with her, panicking when Tessa grumbled in her sleep, face scrunching up irritably. Huh, he thought, recognizing the expression with a little jolt, grinning. Looked like she had inherited more than his eyes and ears, the Wheeler temper definitely shining through. 

‘Well she came before Dad. I’m sorry I missed it, El. I hate myself for it’, he told her, his eyes dulling with pain and guilt, glancing down sadly. 

El’s face grew pained, pulling back to give him a stern look, placing a gentle hand on the back of his head, running her thumb along his jaw, lifting his chin to look at her again. 

‘Don’t. Let’s just make you sure don’t miss anymore.’ 

‘I’m not going anywhere, I swear it’, he said, tone vehement, expression fierce as his head snapped, looking almost warrior-like in his sincerity and El felt her heart skip a little at the sight. 

Well…shit, she thought, suddenly breathless, feeling heat rising to her cheeks, as Mike’s eyes snapped to hers at her sudden intake of her breath, his gaze darkening as his eyes dipped to her lips, swallowing hard as the air around them seemed to grow thick.  
They both leant forward slightly, eyes slowly beginning to slide shut, hearts fluttering in anticipation when a loud crash coming from the kitchen made them both jump back. Flushing bright red at the thought of being caught, they spun towards the kitchen, seeing the sliding door that separated them was open a tiny slit and which quickly slid shut with a muffled ‘eep’ at their attention. 

‘Shit, I think they saw us’, Lucas whispered loudly, letting out a loud ‘ow’ a second later. 

‘Well, if they didn’t they definitely just heard that, moron,’ Dustin sighed back, sounding put-upon, Will’s laugh echoing after. 

‘Idiots,’ Max muttered and El could almost hear the eyeroll coming from where they were sitting. 

Mike let out a huge sigh, running a hand over his face, beyond exasperated while El giggled, burying her face in his shoulder. 

‘I forgot what this was like.’ 

‘It must have been nice. Bloody eavesdropping like a bunch of old busy-bodies,’ Mike said, rolling his eyes so hard El was surprised they didn’t get stuck there. 

She shook her head, lifting her head up, amused. 

‘They wouldn’t be our friend’s if they weren’t nosy,’ she said fondly, and deep inside, though she wouldn’t admit it aloud, she was grateful to them. As much as she wanted to kiss Mike again, how much her body physically ached to feel his lips against her own again, she wasn’t sure she was ready yet. It felt too soon. So she owed them. 

‘Do you want to go and see them? I’m sure they are dying for us to get back in there.’

El’s eyes widened and she glanced nervously at the door again. 

‘They are probably going to hate me. I’d hate me if they’d left me like I did.’ 

‘Not possible,’ Mike said, giving her a reassuring smile even as he shook his head, rising to his feet, accidentally jostling Tessa in the process who came awake with a little cry, whimpering, her bottom lip wobbling before she began to cry in earnest. 

It was Mike’s turn to panic as his eyes went huge in his head and he began to pat her back frantically, watching in horror as her face grew a bright, mottled red and fat tears began to spill from her eyes. 

‘Shush, I’m sorry, Tessa. It’s okay,’ he said, rocking back and forth a little too fast, lifting begging eyes to El, ‘I really don’t know what I’m doing.’ 

Grateful for the distraction, even if it would only offer her a tiny moment of respite from her fear of facing their friend’s and her abandonment of them, she touched his shoulder and slowed his movements slightly, rocking slightly from side to side until he began to copy her slower rhythm. 

‘I didn’t know what I was doing when she was born either. You’ll learn. I’m still learning something new every day with her. See, you’re doing it,’ she said, grinning when he let a huge breath of relief, pressing his lips to Tessa’s wet cheeks as her screams calmed to gulping breaths, her body hiccupping every few seconds until she was calm again. 

‘Sorry, Tessa girl. I’m still getting used to this whole daddy thing. But I’ll get better, I promise.’ 

Tessa lifted her head at the still unfamiliar voice, frowning at him, still half-asleep, before her face lit up and she seemed to recognize him from before. She patted at his cheeks, legs kicking against his stomach for a second, before she turned away, seeming satisfied with who was holding her. 

‘Mama,’ she said with a little excited squeal as her eyes alit on El, lifting her tiny arms and opening and shutting her hands in a ‘gimme’ motion that was both adorable and endearing. 

‘Hello, my baby,’ El said, leaning forward to rub her nose against Tessa’s, not wanting to pull her from Mike’s arms quite yet, wanting them to get used to each other, and also not wanting Mike to feel left out. He deserved this chance to bond. They both did.  
Knowing the moment of respite was at an end, El felt her shoulders drop in resignation and walked over to the change table that sat in the corner and pulled out a diaper and baby wipes. 

‘Just let me change her and we’ll head back in. She usually has her last bottle of the night around now anyways’, she told him, trying to sound relaxed and nonchalant. 

Mike pulled a face at her, not buying it at all but dutifully brought Tessa over, watching attentively as she changed her, taking note of every tiny step, the powder and diaper cream she used, wanting to know everything so he could help next time. He had nine months to catch up on after all.  
When that was all done and over Mike picked Tessa up again, settling her on his hip again, ignoring as she began to suck on his shirt, as he held out his hand to El, giving her a small, reassuring smile. 

El let out a shuddering breath and took his hand, hoping he didn’t notice how cold and clammy it was, as they walked to the kitchen, pushing the door open and stepping inside.

She froze on the threshold, chewing her lip anxiously as the hand that wasn’t being held by Mike, who was squeezing it in encouragement, fiddling with the hem of her sleeve. She took them all in as they all turned towards them at the kitchen table, Will actually jumping to his feet, the chair scraping against the wooden floorboards grating, making her jump slightly. 

They were still the same, El thought, the relief that that knowledge brought her stunning her. She’d been so worried that they’d change, that she wouldn’t be able to recognize the people they were before they’d left Hawkins’s for college, that they’d change in some explicable way, go someplace and become people she’d never be able to keep up with, irrational as it sounded spoken aloud. It was kind of ironic that she’d the one who changed, who had become a Mama in the time since they’d left. 

But no, there was Lucas, looking the same, wary and a little closed up, face unreadable, trying to gauge her as she was doing to him, his afro a little bigger than he used to style it the only difference. And Dustin, his characteristic wide grin already crinkling his eyes as he looked right back at her, his entire body seeming to vibrate, like he was just waiting for the slightest indication from her to rush forward to hug her, always the most affectionate and warm of them all, something that clearly hadn’t changed. And Will, sweet Will, the boy who had become her brother and who had kept her sane throughout the years of nightmares, fears and fighting for their lives, battling monsters that only ever seemed to come for them, both real and only memories. He stared at her, gaze almost bruising with its intensity, his expression almost breaking her heart, disbelieving as it was, leaning heavily against the table. He had gotten taller, only a tiny bit but enough that he would now be taller than her, a fact that had always drove him crazy, his hands still stained with ink and paint and charcoal. Her boys. Her boys were here. 

‘Hey guys,’ she said, her voice cracking, giving them a small smile that quivered and wobbled, tears filling her eyes, ready to spill over at any second.

Will surged forward so fast El felt her heart skip slightly and suddenly she was in his arms, held so tightly she thought she heard one of her ribs creak. But it didn’t matter, she didn’t even feel the pain, as she hugged him back just as tight, a sob slipping from her mouth, apologies spilling from her lip in a babble she wasn’t even sure made sense. 

‘I’m sorry… I didn’t tell you…. hurt you…I missed you….don’t hate me…’ 

Will pulled back, his eyes just as wet as her own and gave him that small, sweet smile that was so familiar she felt another sob rising. 

‘Breathe, El,’ he said with a little laugh that made warmth fill her chest, wiping at his face without any self-consciousness. 

She did as he told her, taking a deep breath, wiping at her running nose with the back of her hand with a sheepish smile. 

‘I’m sorry I didn’t tell you…any of you…I wanted to; you have no idea how much, but Mike is your family too. And I didn’t want anyone of you to have to pick sides. It wasn’t fair.’ 

‘I understand,’ Will said, leaning forward and kissing her head. 

They both let out startled yelps as two bodies abruptly barreled into them from the side, almost knocking them over. El let out a loud, choked laugh, barely holding back even more tears, as she felt two sets of arms wrap around them both, pulling them in for one of their famous group hugs, lifting her head to see Lucas and Dustin grinning at them. Mike and Max laughed behind them as they stumbled into one of the cupboards, Max reaching out to steady them with a partly fond and partly exasperated shake of her head. 

‘Hey Wheeler. I see you’ve finally met your girl,’ Max said, her usually tough exterior melting slightly as she grabbed at Tessa’s tiny hand, giving it a tiny shake and blowing a raspberry against her skin, causing her to erupt into a fit of contagious giggles that had Mike chuckling. 

‘Yeah. I’m just sorry it took me this long.’ 

Max punched his shoulder, giving him a warning look that reminded Mike of the night that she had slammed a baseball bat covered in nails between her stepbrothers’ legs and made him gulp slightly, a fact that caused her to grin scarily. 

‘I knew you’d get your head out of your ass one day. Just make sure you don’t hurt her again. She’s way more forgiving than me.’ 

Mike’s face grew serious, his eyes shooting across to El and then down to Tessa who was watching the reunion between his friend’s with interest and nodded. 

‘If I hurt her again, I give you permission to kick my ass.’ 

‘With pleasure,’ she said, her devious smile softening as she leant forward and gave him a one-armed hug, ‘Missed you, Mike.’ 

‘I missed you too, Max.’ 

‘About time you came home, Hopper,’ Dustin said, giving them a final hard squeeze before stepping back, tugging on the hat that she was almost certain she’d never actually seen off his head. 

Lucas rolled his eyes, giving him a small shove. 

‘We’re at her house, dummy.’ 

‘Eh’, Dustin shrugged, ‘Semantics.’ 

Will shoot Mike a put-upon look that made Mike grin, nudging his shoulder against his as he came to stand next to him.

‘God, I can’t believe I actually missed this,’ El said, laughing when Lucas and Dustin shot her almost identical mock-offended looks. 

‘Of course you did, what’s not to miss?’ Dustin said, puffing his chest out slightly, while Lucas nodded seriously beside him. 

‘People actually fight for our company you know.’ 

‘Uh-huh sure. Well, should I wait for your heads to actually deflate a bit or are you ready to meet your niece now?’ 

That seemed to throw them, and they gaped at her for a second. 

‘Holy shit, we’re uncles!’ Lucas suddenly burst out, making them all crack up laughing, his eyes huge in his head. ‘I’m too young to be an uncle.’ 

‘Too late,’ Max said with a chortle, ‘You’re officially an old, grumpy Uncle. Emphasis on the old bit.’ 

‘And what does that make you?’ Lucas shot back, narrowing his eyes at her. 

Max fluffed her hair, smirking at him. 

‘The cool, trendy Aunt who brings expensive gifts and sneaks her alcohol when she’s older.’ 

‘No-one is sneaking my daughter alcohol,’ Mike said sternly, glaring at the both of them, Lucas holding his hands up as if to say, ‘what did I do?’ 

‘Hypocrite,’ Will muttered out of the corner of his mouth, laughing when Mike elbowed him. 

‘Whose side are you on?’

‘I shot gun first hold,’ Dustin said, grinning smugly when Lucas spun towards him, expression indignant. 

‘You can’t do that!’ 

‘I just did.’ 

‘She’s a baby, not the front seat of a car.’ 

‘You’re just pissed I called dibs first.’ 

‘Oi, stop fighting over my baby,’ El said, laughing and shaking her head as she took her from Mike’s arm, not missing the way his arms tightened slightly, obviously reluctant to let her go, squeezing his arm understandingly as he flushed slightly, understanding the need to keep her close, barely having let her go those first few days after she’d been, and turned to Will, ‘Just for that, Uncle Will gets first hold.’ 

‘Uncle Will,’ Will said as he eagerly took her, shooting their protesting friend’s a smug look, letting out a little omph, obviously surprised by her weight and clasped her to her chest almost expertly, jiggling her silently as they stared at each for a second, their expressions almost identical ones of wariness, ‘That sounds weird.’ 

‘Daddy’s weirder,’ Mike said with a laugh tinged with a tiny bit of hysteria but also so much love that the boys all looked at him, exchanging looks as if they too had just realized just how huge a moment this all was. One of them was a Dad now. A responsible, adult-type Dad. It was insane. But they could all see the joy in his face and couldn’t help but smile back. 

‘But it’s a good weird though, right?’ Max asked, watching Will like a hawk, a protectiveness radiating off her that Mike couldn’t help but appreciate it. It was nice to know that there were people in the world who would have their daughter’s back, who would love her just as much as they did. 

‘The best kind,’ Mike said, grinning at El who beamed back. 

They all settled in the living room, sprawling on the couches and on the floor in front of the fire, Lucas and Dustin having their chance to hold Tessa, Dustin throwing her in the air in a way that almost gave Mike a mini heart attack and made El warn him with a sly smile that he could keep doing that but he would definitely be thrown up on, making him almost fling her back at them, blanching at the thought of baby vomit. Lucas feed her her final bottle of the night, staring down at her like a puzzle he was trying to solve, holding her so gently and with so much care El’s eyes filled with tears, arm slung around her side, as if ready to protect her with his life. 

Afterwards, when El had burped her, Tessa lay on her stomach on the floor, grizzling and seeming to fight with her stuffed bunny instead of play with it, crawling across the floor to all of them one at a time, fascinated by all the new faces, and they talked. Talked as Dustin, Lucas and Max drank from the beers in their hands, Will and El with hot chocolates, while Mike ravenously ate the stew that had been on the stove and that the others had eaten while they were waiting for them. They talked so long about everything that came to mind, about their classes, and the new friend’s they’d made, the professor’s they hated and loved, how hard the workload was, El fascinated and Max slightly bored, never having been much interested in the whole college experience. And then it was Max and El’s turn, and the told them all about travelling around the country together, the things they’d seen and experienced, the streets of New Orleans, the skyline of New York City, Rodeos and cowboys, driving anywhere and everywhere, seeing everything they could in Billy’s old car that he had left behind when he’d finally skipped out of Hawkins’s the day he turned eighteen. And then finally they’d arrived in Los Angeles, the place Max had missed more than anything in the world, though she had come to love Hawkins’s just as much, where El had finally seen and dipped her feet into the ocean, something she’d never imagined would actually happen but had dreamed about. And how it had come to an end when El had started to get sick, vomiting, barely able to keep any food down, pale and exhausted all the time, sleeping almost all day no matter where they were, beyond irritable, snapping at everything and then bursting into tears. It had taken weeks before Max had realized what her symptoms meant, Hopper never having explained anything to El, the conversation having seemed awkward to both of them, and she had taken the test.  
‘How do you even afford the rent on this place?’ Lucas asked, glancing around, letting out a quiet whistle, ‘It’s huge. It must have cost you guys a ton.’  
El exchanged a look with Max, knowing her answer was bound to cause a bit of an uproar and cleared her throat quietly in a way that made all eyes swing towards her, eyebrows raising. 

‘Okay, don’t freak out,’ she began, sighing heavily when they all sat up, tensing up and looking ready for a fight, muttering under her breath, ‘Like that,’ before continuing.  
‘During the last month we were on the road, when we were on our way…. well we didn’t know where. We’d just figured out I was pregnant and knew we needed to head somewhere and were just trying to figure out where when we realized we were being followed.’ 

‘Wait, what?’ Mike yelled, lowering his head sheepishly when El narrowed her eyes at him, grinning apologetically. ‘Sorry, continue.’ 

‘Anyways, we kept seeing this shiny black car following us to every town we went, even taking side streets to see if they’d follow. They did. We finally managed to corner them when we went to this old diner and confronted them about why they were stalking us.’  
‘Me having years of experience of this knew how to handle it perfectly,’ Max joked, kicking at Lucas’s legs across the floor who glared at her good-naturedly, sticking his tongue out at her. 

‘You missed my wonderful presence.’ 

‘You wish, Stalker.’ 

‘It turns out the woman was an agent from an obscure department in the US Government- she couldn’t give us the name of for security reasons. She had been investigating Brenner and his team and the “research” they had been doing. They knew I had been taken to be used as an experiment, a possible weapon against the Russians, but they hadn’t known how far he had actually taken it, stealing me from my Mama. That was not part of the plan, it was supposed to be a willing participant, someone who would still have access to their child. So she offered me a deal, a check for my silence about the experiment and the guarantee that I would never sue them or tell a single soul what was done to me.’ 

‘Are you serious?’ Mike said, fury roaring through as he surged to his feet, Will’s face equally outraged where he sat on the couch below him. ‘They thought they could just buy you like that, make up for all those years you were locked away and treated like a lab rat. Who the hell do they think they are?’ 

Dustin cocked his head to the side where he sat on the single armchair, raising an eyebrow at El. 

‘How much? I mean, you obviously took the money, right? That’s how you have this house.’ 

‘El?’ Mike said, his face draining slightly of colour, horrified. 

‘Hey, no judgement, Wheeler,’ Max said, crossing her arms over her chest. 

El looked at Mike, her entire body completely calm and peaceful, unashamed of her decision. 

‘They offered me 1.2 million dollars. So yes, I took it, because on top of that I made them sign a legally binding document that said they would never contact or try to take me or any of my children or their descendants. I had just found I was pregnant, and I was going to do anything to protect him or her.’ 

They all gaped at her, completely and utter speechless, except for Max who smirked, letting out a little cackle. 

‘Did…d-id you say million dollars?’ Will spluttered, blinking rapidly at her. 

‘I think I’m going to have a heart attack,’ Lucas said, sliding down flat onto the floor, running a hand over his gob-smacked face. 

‘They signed it?’ Mike said, feeling like all the air has rushed from his lungs as he walked to her on shaking legs, crouching in front of her, ‘They actually signed it. They won’t come after you again? They won’t come after Tessa?’

El nodded, reaching up to push his hair back from his face, shifting to block him slightly from view, wiping at the tear that slipped from his eye before anyone could see, her face softening. 

‘Never. They are never going to come after us. Never again. We’re free,’ she confirmed, trembling when he cupped her face in his hand, pressing a shuddering kiss to her temple, whispering a thank you against her neck that held almost the same weight as the first time he’d said he loved her, the joy and relief in it causing her heart to warm until she thought it must be glowing inside her chest. 

‘It’s just a million dollars, get over it, god,’ Max said, rolling her eyes as if they were just being melodramatic.

‘Just a million dollars she says,’ Dustin said, sounding actually faint from his place in the armchair, staring absently, not even noticing when Mike stood over him, going back to his spot on the couch and his dinner that had now gone slightly cold. 

‘Anyways, the first thing we did was go to a realtor and find this place. I knew I wanted to still be close to home without actually going there and this place was perfect. And we managed to get everything moved in just in time for the birth.’ 

‘You gave birth here? Not at the hospital?’ Will asked, eyebrows shooting up, looking slightly sick at the thought. 

El shuddered, the thought of those freezing, sterile white rooms making everything inside her go cold. 

‘No, definitely no hospital.’ 

‘It was the scariest shit I’d ever seen. I will not be having babies until I’m like forty, thank you very much. If ever! Something that big should not come out of…’ Max pressed a hand to her mouth as she gave a dramatic dry-heave, face looking a bit green, taking a long sip of the beer in her hands while El just laughed.  
‘It couldn’t be that bad…. right?’ Lucas asked with a weak, worried chuckle, glancing nervously at the other guys who looked just as sick at the way Max was describing it. 

Max stabbed a finger in his direction. 

‘You weren’t there, you didn’t see it. You have no idea!’ 

‘Is Max right? Did it really hurt that badly?’ Mike asked, turning to El, his freckles stark against his suddenly pale cheeks, the idea of his El, so strong and almost recklessly fearless, being in pain because of something he’d caused, making his stomach twist and turn almost nauseatingly. 

‘Worse than being ripped apart by the Demogorgon’, she said, laughing at their horrified expressions, Will actually looking like he was going to be physically ill, wiping at the tears of mirth that pricked her eyes. ‘She was completely worth it though. Stitches and all’.

She reached over to tickle Tessa who giggled where she’d settled in Mike’s lap, her laugh bringing smiles to all their faces, the boys completely wrapped around her little finger, a fact that amused El to no end. 

‘Stitches’, Dustin whispered, every syllable filled with terror at the thought. 

Mike caught El’s hand as he inched closer to her on the floor, expression completely apologetic, face a little grey. 

‘Sorry I put you through that.’ 

El snickered. ‘From what I remember I was pretty involved in the process of making her as well, which as I recall was a pretty damn good night, so no apology needed, Mr. Wheeler.’ 

Mike blushed bright red at her words, ignoring the taunts and catcalls of their friend’s, unable to hold back the tiny little smug smile that twitched at his lips when the memory rose to the forefront of his mind, a look that El returned, smirking. Yeah that was definitely a great night. 

‘Okay, quick, very obvious, change of subject because I really don’t want to think of my sister and best friend doing that,’ Will said, scrunching his face up in disgust, ‘But where all the decorations around here?’ 

‘Real smooth, Byers,’ Max said with a roll of her eyes, nudging his foot with hers, ‘Only okay when you’re doing that then, huh?’  
Will held his hands up. 

‘Hey, as far as I’m concerned you are all completely sexless beings. Any information to the contrary you can all keep to yourselves. ‘  
Dustin chortled to himself, snorting into his own beer. 

‘God, you crack me up, Will.’

‘So much for a change of topic,’ Lucas said, silently having the same feelings- Will wasn’t the only one who thought of El as a sister and he was quite happy convincing himself she’d found Tessa in a cabbage patch as Dustin had once convinced him was how it worked when they were kids- ‘So I’ll continue. What’s up with the lack of decorations, El? You guys don’t even have a tree.’ 

‘We…’ El bit her lip, avoiding Mike’s eyes as he glanced at curiously, if a little worriedly, ‘we actually don’t have any. Last year was the first real Christmas without you guys and it was just…too hard. I mean, Christmas was always our holiday. So we just kind of ignored it, concentrated on getting the house ready and things together for Tessa instead.’ 

Mike’s face fell slightly at her words, guilt twisting his insides. She didn’t celebrate Christmas! She couldn’t even have Christmas because of what he did? Was there no end to his bloody sins for this? 

El saw the guilt and sadness fill his eyes and narrowed her eyes, pinching his thigh hard, making him jolt and turn wide, surprised eyes onto her. She sent him a small warning look, half playful and half-genuine, silently letting him know that it wasn’t his fault, rubbing tiny circles on his ankle as he sat cross-legged next to her. She refused to let him feel guilty about another damn thing. He couldn’t just keep blaming himself for every feeling she’d had over the last two years. It wasn’t healthy, for him or for them. She was the one who had chosen not to celebrate last year, it had nothing to do with him. She was responsible for her own choices and she would kick his ass if she had to to get that into his thick head. 

Mike searched her eyes for a second before he coughed, turning his eyes away but nodding, letting her quietly know he understood what she was saying. She could tell he didn’t entirely believe her, but she’d take even this tiny sign as a win. They’d get there eventually. 

‘What? But…but…it’s already the eighteenth!’ Dustin said, gaping at her, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. 

Lucas blew out a breath, shaking his head as if he was deeply disappointed in them, a look so reminiscent of his own father that Max teased him, digging her fingers into his side. 

‘Sorry, Dad!’ 

‘Shut up,’ he said, pushing her away playfully, pulling a face at the thought. Yeah, definitely not ready for that. 

‘That’s almost sacrilegious guys! It’s Tessa first Christmas and we’re her uncles. We have six months of spoiling to catch up on,’ Will said, sitting up straighter, exchanging a look with the others that made El and Mike glance at each other a little nervously. 

‘Will’s right. It’s Tessa’s first Christmas and we have to do this properly,’ Dustin agreed, before getting up to begin to pace, muttering under his breath, ‘Got to get a tree…if there are even any left…who doesn’t get a tree by now?…amateurs…’ 

Max cocked her head to the side thoughtfully, before turning to El. 

‘They do have a point. I can’t believe we didn’t even think of this.’ 

‘We have been stuck in a snowstorm for the last two days, Max’, El said, her argument feeling weak even to herself, feeling slightly bad for not even thinking of Christmas. She’d bought gifts, of course, for the three of them, a few small things but she wasn’t even close to being ready for Christmas. God, who was she kidding? She was woefully unprepared, she thought, panic rising inside of her, barely resisting the urge to get up to pace with Dustin. 

‘We have so little time,’ she said, jiggling her leg anxiously as she chewed on her fingernail, eyes turning a bit manic. 

‘We’d have to get decorations, and lots of food, and the presents…there’s so much to do,’ Lucas said, ticking off the list on his fingers, only making El’s panic rise. 

‘We…probably won’t be able to get home any time soon. I doubt the roads will be cleared for at least a couple of days…maybe even longer. But if you want us to go…if it’s too much…I’m sure we could find a motel or something…’ Mike began slowly, chewing the inside of his cheek, watching her reaction, mistaking her reluctance for panic at the thought of being stuck in the house with them for the next week. A little bit of hurt filled him, but he understood. They’d just begun to work towards fixing them, and it was a bit much to ask for her to let him back into her life in such a close and intimate way. He understood if she only wanted to let them stay for one night. 

El jumped, hearing the tiny bit of hurt he couldn’t quite keep from his voice and spun to stare at him, frowning at him for a second before her eyes widened, taking in his expression, knowing exactly what it meant, knowing his own face better than she did her own. She quickly shook her head at him, the movement almost frantic. 

‘No!’ she yelled, so loudly that they all swung to stare at her, going instantly quiet, and she flushed, smiling sheepishly, ‘I don’t want anyone of you to go. We haven’t had a Christmas together in so long and I’d love if you guys would stay. If you want to.’ 

‘Brilliant idea as always Hopper,’ Dustin said, leaning over from his armchair and clapping her on the back, almost knocking her over. 

‘Of course!’ Lucas said, dark eyes bright, grinning. ‘As if you could have gotten rid of us if you tried.’ 

‘I do have telekinesis, you know?’ El said, raising an eyebrow at him and he waved at her nonchalantly. 

‘You stopped scaring me years ago, Hopper.’ 

El snorted out a little breath. ‘Sure, I believe you, Lucas.’ 

Max gave a fake, dramatic groan. 

‘We are going to need way more eggnog and wine if I’m going to get through this holiday.’ 

‘You love us, don’t deny it, Max’, Mike said, elbowing her with a grin, holding Tessa up in front of his as a shield when she swung around, dark red hair swinging with the motion, her tiny legs pumping, eyes huge in her head as the excitement she could sense around her, clapping her hands. 

‘You just keep telling yourself that, Wheeler,’ she said with a derisive sniff. ‘You make cute kids, that’s all I’m going to give you.’ 

Mike shrugged, kissing Tessa’s head proudly. ‘I’ll take it.’ 

Will smiled, excitement written all over his face. 

‘I guess we could hang around. I doubt Mom will be too upset if we missed. And we are blocked anyways so she can’t exactly blame us.’ 

‘Please don’t tell her you’re here when you call. The more people that know…the more likely that Hopper will find out and I’m….I’m still not there yet’, El begged, feeling bad that she was still keeping this secret from Hopper, the man she thought of as her father, but she still had a few things to work out first. She would tell him soon; she swore to herself. Just…not yet. 

Will nodded, his expression completely understanding. It was a big thing to explain, especially after this long, and as much as he thought Hopper deserved to know this wasn’t his secret to tell. She would do it in her own time. It must have been hard enough for her seeing them again, all the guilt he could tell she was still feeling. 

‘I get it.’ 

El sent him a grateful look, leaning heavily against Mike’s, shivering as she felt his lips brush against her ear. 

‘Nothing could drag me away.’ 

El smiled, biting her lip to keep from yanking him to her, the sudden urge to kiss him hard to resist, and she quickly looked away, willing the heat to fade from her cheeks before he noticed. 

Mike felt happiness bubbled up inside him at the sight, turning his face to the side to hide his grin, and meet Dustin’s gaze who sneakily gave him a thumb ups, grinning, looking genuinely happy for them.

And he was. He had watched Mike be miserable for the last two years. He’d always been too rash in making decisions, his temper blowing up and lashing out at everyone in the strike zone, instantly regretting the words and actions that came from it, just as he’d regretted breaking up with El. He was glad to see him smiling again, and he was even more glad to have El back. Though he’d hidden it well for Mike’s sake, it had hurt like hell when El and, consequently, Max left, and he had left like a huge part of him had been ripped away, leaving him lost and aching for those missing pieces. Though getting a call from Max a year into her trip around the country had gone a long way to easing that pain, finding El again, having her back and being around her, the feeling like nothing had changed, and now finding Tessa, a niece- even if it was only honorary- that he hadn’t ever really imagined or not for like a really long time, he felt whole again. 

Tessa suddenly let out a loud yawn, her eyelids drooping slightly and El immediately looked at the clock, barely holding back a yawn herself, as she saw to her amazement that it was nearly eleven. 

‘I didn’t realise it was so late’, she said, rising to her feet with a little groan, stretching and leaning down to pluck Tessa off the ground, ignoring as she protested loudly, pouting at Mother. ‘I better get this one to bed.’ 

‘Yeah, Mama here needs her beauty rest,’ Max teased, even as her own yawn overtook her, pressing a hand to her mouth to try and hide it, blushing bright red and glaring at the boys when they cracked up at her, shooting them the finger. 

‘Can I help you?’ Mike said, scrambling to his feet eagerly and El smiled, nodding. 

‘Yeah. Come on guys, I’ll show you where you’re staying first.’ 

They all got up to follow her and Max, grabbing their bags from where’d left them by the front door, and followed her up the stairs, glancing around curiously. They all grinned at the photos hanging on the wall near the stairs that they’d missed in their surprise at seeing El and Max again and meeting Tessa, astounding as it was. There had to be dozens of photos, big and small, covering the small space, everything from polaroid’s they’d taken as kids running around Hawkins’s together to photos taken at dances by the school. Them playing D & D in Mike’s old basement, at the science fair Senior Year where the boys had won first place, all of them holding the trophy above their heads proudly, in the cabin playing monopoly, photos of Mike and El together looking so in love it was almost sickening, Max and El posing for the camera in dress-ups, boas of sickeningly bright yellows and greens wrapped around their necks, glasses on their heads. And photos of Tessa, from when she was a tiny little baby, El holding her in her arms that first day looking pale and exhausted but beaming, Tessa batting at a mobile above her head, mouth open in a tiny o, with spaghetti sauce smeared all over her chubby cheeks, grinning toothlessly and proudly. 

It made all of their hearts warm with nostalgia, missing those days, even as they looked forward to the ones ahead, getting to know Tessa and spending Christmas together. 

‘Night, losers,’ Max said, rubbing her eyes as they reached the top of the stairs, giving them a tiny salute as she walked into the room straight across the stairs, clearly belonging to her, and closing the door, completely missing the longing look that Lucas sent after, mouth opening to say something, though not even he knew what.

As Mike and El kept making their way down hall, Lucas, Dustin and Will all paused when they heard the door reopen again with the tiniest of squeaks, Max popping her head out, pinning them with a significant look, waving her hands to get their attention. She widened her eyes and jerked her chin insistently at the interior of her room, mouth a quick, ‘Come when Mike’s asleep,’ before she ducked back inside. 

They all exchanged baffled looks before quickly schooling their faces into blank masks when El glanced back at them, eyebrows drawing together in confusion at the looks on their faces. 

‘Here we are guys,’ El said, pushing the door open and flicking the light on even as she adjusted Tessa in her arms, who was beginning to grow heavy, her head falling to her shoulder, drooling a tiny bit, sleep already beginning to pull her away now that the excitement from downstairs had quieted down. 

The four of them stepped into the large room, freezing as they spotted the four single beds facing each other on either side of the room, walls covered in posters from the movies they all went to see at the cinemas, regularly begging the vendors to keep the posters for them, collecting them all. How El had managed to get them was bewildering but they didn’t care, stunned to see them framed and proudly on display. There was were other little details that they quickly took in, the bedspreads all different colors, red, blue, green and orange, all their favorite colors, the blue having a lamp beside it, clearly for Will who liked to draw well into the night, while the green, clearly Lucas’s, had a book about army strategy next to it, Dustin a bunch of comics and Mike’s old folder, meticulously sorted and still filled with many campaigns they’d played and the others he’d begun to plan but never finished. She had kept so many of their little trinkets, had never stopped thinking about them, the proof right in front of their eyes. 

Dustin swung towards her; his eyes suspiciously wet. 

‘You put this room together for us. You planned all this for us. How did you even know we’d even come here one day?’ he said, sniffling slightly, walking over and running his fingers over the pile of comics almost reverently, while Will and Lucas did the same, Lucas’s eyes widening and sending her a grateful smile as he picked up the book, seeing it was one he hadn’t read before, and Will opened the drawer of the bedside table next to his own bed and let out a little crow of excitement as he found a whole collection of pencils and good drawing paper neatly placed inside. 

El shrugged, but her eyes lifted to Mike’s and she gave a small, shy smile.

‘I hoped.’ 

Mike’s face softened, curling his pinky around hers and squeezing gently, out of their friend’s sight, something secret and wishful passing between them, a promise that they didn’t verbalize but they heard just as clearly anyways. 

He couldn’t believe she’d kept his old campaigns, even after all these years. He thought his Mom had thrown them away before he’d even left for school, but here they were, protected and cared for by El, something she’d been doing for him, for all of them since they’d found her that night in the rain. He felt his love for grow impossibly in that moment, surprised that he could love her even more than he already did. But it did, his heart seeming to swell in chest.

El’s breath caught in her chest at the look he was giving her, warmth filling her stomach, butterflies dancing to delicious life and it was all she could to keep herself from pulling him down to her, from dragging him away from their friend’s sight and never letting him go again. 

She reluctantly tore her gaze from his, feeling like her face was on fire, and smiled at the guys who were beginning to get ready for bed, their backs turned towards them, obviously giving them some privacy, never having been more grateful that she’d found them that night, that she had somehow gotten them as friends.

‘I’ll see you guys in the morning. Night.’ 

‘Night, El’, they chorused back. 

They walked further down the hallway to the very end to El’s room, both of them very aware of the other at their side, their warmth bleeding into their sides, holding their breaths, pinkies still linked, swinging by their sides. She stepped into the dark room, lit up only by the moon outside, the muffled sound of snow still falling outside the only sound in the room as El walked over the crib beside the large queen bed Mike could barely make out in the dimness of the room, a room El clearly knew well, and watched as she gently placed Tessa in her bed, tucking her blanket carefully around her, leaning down to press a soft kiss to her head. 

‘Night, baby’, she whispered, the love in her voice making Mike’s entire body soften, aching with longing. 

El gave a small smile, coming back out of the room and pulling the door closed slightly. 

‘With all that excitement she should sleep the whole night for once,’ she said with a little, breathless laugh, ‘Our girl definitely didn’t get your love of sleep.’ 

The laugh caught in her throat as she lifted her head and found Mike staring down at her, his gaze so penetrating, as if he was seeing through to her very soul, and so full of love she felt her body jolt, fingers clenching uselessly on air. 

‘Mike…’ she began, voice gasping out, trembling suddenly, the moment so soft, so delicate, that she felt that if either of them moved wrong it would shatter…. or if they moved just right it would change everything. 

Mike’s lips titled up into the crooked smile she adored and hadn’t seen in so long that she had almost forgotten the exact shape of it, wanting desperately to trace it, and he reached out with a hand so steady she could almost ignore the nerves she could see in his eyes, and traced a line of fire across her cheekbone and down her jaw, caressing her face with a gentleness that caused her insides to clench. 

He pulled back just as abruptly, dropping his arm and tucking both his hands almost innocently into his jeans, looking young and very much like the boy she’d met when she was twelve and he was thirteen, smiling sweetly at her.

‘Night, El.’ 

‘Night, Mike,’ she gulped out, feeling like an entire body was on fire as she stumbled back into her room, reaching for the handle clumsily and closing the door behind her. 

Mike couldn’t hold back the grin that rose inside him, punching the air as he turned around, almost skipping back to the room he was sharing with their friend’s, hope filling every empty space inside him that had ached, that had been empty for so long, feeling all the cracks and holes beginning to fill up and slowly beginning to heal. It was happening, this was really going to happen. He was going to get her back; he could feel it. He knew he had a lot to make up for, so much time and hurt to heal between them, but he knew suddenly, without a single question or hint of doubt, that he could do it. He was going to do whatever it took. He was going to get his girl back. 

***

El leant heavily against her door breathlessly, feeling like every muscle in her body was suddenly as weak as a noodle, barely able to keep herself upright. She pressed a hand to her wildly pounding heart, breaths gasping out, still able to feel the heat of his fingers against her skin, the thought of the look he’d given her, the heat and promise of it, of the future she could so clearly in his eyes making her sigh, almost like a teenage girl. 

Oh, god, that’s exactly what she was acting like, she realized with a jolt, her eyes fluttering open, fanning at her flushed cheeks. She was acting like a lovesick teenager; a phase of her life she now knew she would never truly grow out of. Not when it came to Michael Wheeler. 

Her breath shuddered out and she gave a small giggle, feeling light and dizzy with all the feelings coursing through her. He was going to win over; she already knew it. Who was she kidding? Her and Mike would never just be friends. She wasn’t even sure if that was even possible. It was only a matter of time. Probably not that much of it either, she thought ruefully, shaking her head slightly at herself, not even slightly ashamed of herself. She could scarcely fight this anymore than she could stop time itself. God, even just the way he looked at her, how gently he touched her. 

She had missed those looks so much, missed his eyes, his gentle touch, his laugh, the feeling of safety and love she’d always felt in his arms. His honestly, the curve of his smile, his protectiveness and unending selfless kindness…she’d missed it all, more than she’d let herself admit. His dark eyes had always to see and hear everything she’d never said aloud. 

El turned to Tessa, taking her in sleeping form in her crib, their little girl who looked so much like Mike and whispered, ‘I am so screwed, baby. So so screwed.’ 

****

Hours later, after the house had grown quiet and the clock downstairs told them it was one in the morning, the boys all rose from their beds slowly, nodding seriously at each other in the early morning darkness. 

They had been waiting impatiently for Mike to fall asleep for almost two hours, lying as still as possible, Dustin even fake snoring to try and convince him that they had already fallen asleep when he walked in, stifling laughs as he flung himself onto the bed, sighing like a girl in a romantic film. 

When Mike’s breathing grew heavier and the tiny little huffs of air escaping his nose began, a sure sign that he was- finally- deeply asleep, a fact they knew from their many sleepovers over the years, they took immediate action, sneaking quietly out of their beds. 

‘We’re in the clear,’ Lucas whispered loudly, creeping out of the bed on his toes, all of them dropping one by one onto their knees and crawling from the room. They all froze when the door squeaked as they opened it, Mike shifted with a loud groan, holding their breaths until he settled again, letting it out again with relieved sighs. 

They bumped into each other all the way down the hall, tripping, elbows and knees tangling, knocking them to the ground. 

‘Ow!’ 

‘Oi, that’s my hand.’ 

‘Sorry!’ 

‘Guys, shut up, you’re going to wake Mike and El.’ 

They finally made it to Max’s room, pushing the door opening and rushing inside, shoving and fighting to get inside first, all three of them getting stuck in the doorframe for a second before Will pushed from behind, untangling them with a heavy sigh. 

‘How do I get dragged into this shit?’ he muttered under his breath, stumbling forward when Dustin slapped him on his back, grinning. 

‘Just lucky, Will my boy.’ 

‘God, took you guys long enough’, Max said, voice annoyed, as she removed headphones from her ears, letting them hang around her neck, sprawled across her tied-dyed bedspread, glaring at them, crossing her arms over her chest. She bounced her leg impatiently, gesturing for them to sit down on the bed, huffing out an irritated breath as they took their time, looking around her room curiously, taking everything in. 

The walls that she had clearly painted a bright vibrant blue that slowly faded into a pale, sandy yellow, obviously to represent the oceans she missed the most from her hometown in California, the walls plastered with posters of different bands and photos of the party from their high school years and ticket stubs, as well as postcards from all the places her and El had travelled to over their months away. A windchime made of shells hung near the large bay window, a bookcase full of records sat just to the right of her bed in easy access, a record player on the other side, clothes thrown everywhere on the floor. 

‘We had to wait for Mike to crash, it’s not our bloody fault,’ Lucas protested, and Max sighed as if she wasn’t the one who had told them to come, like they were wasting her time. 

‘Well now you’re here, sit your asses down.’ 

‘Yes, oh powerful one. Want to tell us why you summoned us?’ Will said, taking a seat on the end of the bed, completely unperturbed by the look she gave, that was equal parts impressed by his snark, while half of her seemed to be debating whether to kick him off the bed. 

Max decided to just be impressed and sat up straight as they sat around her, clapping her hands together. 

‘Because of El and Mike. Why else? What are we going to do about those two?’ 

‘Do?’ Dustin asked, raising an eyebrow at her, not following her. 

‘Yes, do. You heard them when they were talking. They’re going to try to be friends. Friends!’ she said, spitting the words as if it left a bad taste in her mouth. 

‘Pfft, those two could never be just friends and they are stupid if they think they could. I mean, they’re Mike and El. They’ve been disgustingly in love since we were kids,’ Lucas scoffed, rolling his eyes at the very thought. 

‘I never actually thought I would miss them being all gross and lovey in front of us,’ Will said, shuddering at the memory of the many things he’d seen and walked in on throughout the years, especially once Hopper and El had moved in with them. They had definitely stretched the limits of his friendship, not to mention acceptable public displays of affection, which they had eventually voted had to be limited to one kiss a day to keep them from vomiting from the very sight of them. 

‘They belong together those two, even if they don’t want to admit it right now. I thought El was going to throw him through the wall when she first spotted him’, Dustin said, paling slightly as he remembered just how violent El could get when she was mad. It was easy to forget just powerful she actually was, tiny and delicate and sweet as she looked, but the knowledge that she could melt their brains and snap their necks without a thought, not that she would ever do anything to hurt them, would rather cut her own hand off then even look at them wrong, the knowledge had definitely kept them in line as kids. 

‘If she had he would have deserved it,’ Max said, her face darkening, ‘I love Mike, but he really screwed up. Those first few months after he broke up with her were…they were rough. She cried herself to sleep every night. She tried to hide it, tried to pretend she was alright, but I could tell, I could hear her through the bathroom door and when she thought I was asleep. She barely ate or slept or did anything but grieve for him. It was like a part of her died.’ 

Will nodded, expression grim. 

‘Mike was the same. He knew he made a mistake straight away. After he came back from Hawkins’s when he went to find you guys…’ 

‘Wait, what?’ Max asked, leaning forward, her eyes widening, mouth falling open, ‘I didn’t know he came for her.’ 

Lucas nodded, eyes growing sad and a little wet, gleaming in the dim lighting. 

‘Yeah he did, a few weeks after he broke up with her. He knew he’d fucked up and drove to Hawkins’s all night. But you guys had already left. We all came to visit when he called to let us know and when we found him…he hadn’t showered in like three days and probably hadn’t eaten for longer than that. We had to drag him into the shower, and practically force food down his throat.’ 

‘We were scared to leave him alone when school went back,’ Dustin continued, ruffling at his curls, grimacing, ‘He didn’t leave his dorm room for two weeks, not even for classes. He broke his heart just as much as he did hers, trust us. I don’t know what the hell he was thinking. Those two bloody belong together. They just need someone to remind them.’ 

Max tapped her finger against her mouth thoughtfully, a strange gleam coming into her eyes as she sat up suddenly, a sly smile curving her lips as an idea popped into her head. 

‘So why don’t we show them.’ 

‘What?’ Will asked, eyebrows drawing together, bemusement settling across his face. 

‘What aren’t you following? Let’s show them that they belong together. I mean, it’s Christmas right. A time for magic and miracles and all the crap they talk about in all those movies.’ 

‘Aw, our Maxine is getting sentimental in her old age,’ Lucas said, wiping away an imaginary tear. 

‘You’re going soft on us, Maxie. I never thought I’d see the day,’ Dustin smirked at her while Will shook his head, unable to hold back the laugh that escaped. 

Dustin yelped when Max reached over to punch his arm, glaring darkly at him, her ears bright red. 

‘Shut up, this is serious.’ 

‘Ow, shit! How did you get stronger? How’s that even possible?’ he said, rubbing his sore, scowling at her. 

Max ignored him, turning back to Will, the only sensible one of them, who had a look of comprehension on his face, lips pulling up into a wide grin, shuffling forward eagerly. 

‘Are you suggesting what I think you are?’ 

‘Exactly’, she said, groaning when Lucas and Dustin just looked at her blankly, she blew her hair out of her face, shooting them a dirty look, ‘Oh for Pete’s…as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, I call a second Christmas operation.’ 

Lucas and Dustin’s eyes lit up, faces erupting into smiles that should have split their faces they were so wide and excited, and suddenly the room filled with almost deafening noise, everyone talking over one another, ignoring Will who tried to shush them, unsuccessfully. 

‘Yes!’ 

‘This is seriously the best idea….’ 

‘We need a name though?’ Any ideas?’ 

‘Operation get Mike and El back together?’ 

‘Operation Mi….Mileven?’ Will suggested softly, his wide brown eyes questioning.

‘We’ll work on it. We need something that they won’t catch on to. If they find out we’re getting involved they’ll kill us’, Max said, looking completely unperturbed at the thought, while the rest of them shuddered. 

‘Well, more like El will kill but yes, there will be death. Very painful death,’ Dustin said, lowering his head dramatically solemnly 

They all looked at each other for a long moment before bursting into laughter. 

‘Okay, time to get serious. We only have six days to put this plan into motion. Ideas, go!’ Lucas said, picking up a pen and scrap off paper off Max’s floor. 

‘Ooh, what about building snowman? We never got to do that before!’

‘…there’s a Christmas market in a few days….’ 

‘…we need so many decorations…where can we even get a tree at this time?’ 

‘…if we get them under the mistletoe…’ 

‘…oh my god no-one can stop us from trying eggnog this time…!’ 

They began to plan, whispering excitedly to each other, reminiscent of that snowy day so long ago when they planned the first Operation in the Wheeler’s station wagon when they’d created a similar list. But this time the stakes were so much higher, and as they planned into the early hours of the morning, they all silently hoped for a little help from the universe, for a Christmas miracle and a little magic to help bring their friend’s back together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always please let me know what you think. It makes it all worthwhile :)


	3. Deck the halls with boughs of holly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you to the lovely people who read, left comments and kudos on this fic. I adore every one of you and it makes all of this so worth it. Hope you like this newest chapter! Let me know xx

El groaned as she came awake slowly the next morning, rolling over as she continued to doze lazily, sighing loudly as her dream she’d been having quickly faded away, leaving behind nothing but an ache in her chest and the tingle of fingers sweeping across her cheek, and the quickly disappearing image of Mike looking at her with those remarkable dark eyes so filled with adoration and heat.

Why couldn’t I sleep a little longer? She thought, disappointment quickly trickling into her as she sunk deeper into her blankets, wanting to bury herself inside and never come out. Every night she dreamt of Mike, imagined him coming back to her, telling he still loved her and meeting their Tessa. But none of her dreams had ever been as vivid at this one, nor as real. She couldn’t decide if that made it hurt more and want to forget, or if, instead, it made her want to drift back to sleep, to try and fade back into it, even for a few seconds. 

Pushing those thoughts aside, a sleepy smile began to curve her lips as the familiar babble coming from the crib beside her bed drifted into her consciousness, the sounds that had been her more than welcome wakeup call since Tessa was born. She’d never been much of a crier and for that El had been eternally grateful. She’d been doing enough crying for both of them back then. 

She twisted onto her side, opening bleary and sleep-filled eyes, ready to get up and begin their day when she suddenly bolted upwards, heart beginning to pound uncontrollably in her chest as the night before suddenly came flooding back and she let out a loud gasp, eyes widening. 

It wasn’t a dream, she thought, her face heating as she lifted her hand to her cheek, biting her lip even as a giddy laugh escaped her throat. Mike was here. He was really here, asleep in the room down the hall. All of it had been real. 

She scrambled out of the bed, almost falling flat on her face as she got twisted in the sheets, not even trying to hide her excitement as she rushed over to Tessa’s crib, eager to get downstairs, the very thought of seeing Mike again making her hands shake and go sweaty in ways they hadn’t since they were teenagers. 

‘Morning baby girl,’ El said, smiling down at Tessa who’s face lit up, immediately abandoning her teething ring that El made sure to keep within easy reach, and crawling to the side of the crib, rising on wobbly legs while clinging to the wood, bouncing excitedly. 

‘Ready for another day, sweetheart?’ she said, plucking her up and raining kisses all over her head, glancing at the clock, stunned to see that it was almost eight in the morning. They must have really worn her out the night before. She was usually up at the crack of dawn most days, a fact that didn’t bother El, a known early riser, but one that made Max shudder at the very thought, Max who usually stumbled down the stairs around 10 for coffee, endearingly grumpy and grumbly. 

She got them both ready for the day, changing Tessa’s diaper expertly and changing her into a thick pale-yellow sweater and a pair of long overalls with ducks all over it, blowing raspberries on her stomach just to hear her contagious giggles, laughing herself, feeling happier and lighter than she had in years. She dressed herself in a pair of thick, thermal tights and a sweater of her own that feel to her knees in a pale pink colour, glancing nervously in the mirror, trying impatiently to tame her unruly curls into some semblance of order. She gave up after a few minutes, huffing out an annoyed breath, knowing it was useless, picking Tessa up again and heading out the door, her thoughts drifting to what the hell she was going to feed everyone for breakfast, having been snowed in for most of the week. 

She was so lost in her thoughts she almost didn’t notice the long legs stretched out in front of her, barely avoiding tripping. She stumbled slightly, blinking in confusion, using her powers as a cushion of air to hold herself upright as Tessa let out a tiny squeak of disapproval at being jostled. 

‘Shit, sorry, sorry,’ a familiar voice said below her, and El’s eyes swung downwards, her eyebrows rising in surprise as she took in an already dressed Mike sprawled in the hallway in front of her room, his expression sheepish, face flushing and spreading all the way to the tips of his ears in a way that El found crazily endearing.

‘Morning,’ he said, rubbing at the back of his neck shyly, trying to force the heat to fade from his cheeks, though it didn’t stop him from jumping eagerly to his feet, grinning widely at her. 

El smiled back, stepping forward just as enthusiastically. 

‘Who are you and what have you done with Mike Wheeler?’ she teased, her smile only growing as she saw his blush grow deeper, shoving his fingers into the pockets of his jumper, rocking back on his feet. ‘I thought you guys would sleep until noon at least after the night we had.’ 

‘I…uh…’ Mike stuttered, quickly clearing his throat, his entire body feeling exposed and like it was on fire. God, he felt like a teenager again, like he’d never spoken to a girl before. Get it together, Wheeler, he silently scolded himself, straightening his shoulders determinedly. 

‘I slept for a few hours but then I woke up and I just…I wanted to see you more’, he told her with a little shrug, as if it wasn’t the sweetest thing he could have said in the moment. 

And it was the truth. He had woken that morning in the unfamiliar surroundings, full of nervous energy when he realized where he was and who was sleeping just down the hall, only feet away from him, real and completely tangible, no longer just a memory that brought pain, guilt and longing. A dream that faded the second he opened his eyes every morning. And he knew he would not get a single moments more of sleep, that he didn’t want to, that even sitting across the hall from her, as creepy as it sounded, being close to her, was better than sleep, better than anything else in the world. 

It was El’s turn to blush and she ducked her head slightly, missing Mike’s thrilled expression as he quickly pulled his face back into a deceptively calm façade, his heart pounding in his chest, wanting to pull her into his arms, to hold on and never let go. He shook his head, trying to focus, and felt him his eyes drawn to where Tessa sat on El’s hip, pulling and chewing on El’s curls, going back again and again not matter how many times El gently tugged them from her small fists, his entire body softening at the sight of his two girls together. 

‘Hello, Tessa,’ He said, voice shaking a little, somehow more nervous in the light of day than he had been meeting her for the first time the night before. He desperately wanted to be a good dad to her and was terrified he was going to screw this up somehow. That she could somehow sense that he abandoned her, even inadvertently, before she was even born and would hate him for it. It was stupid, babies didn’t, couldn’t, hate anyone but it was a fear that had gripped during these early morning he had stayed up waiting for them to wake and he couldn’t quite manage to shake. 

To his complete shock Tessa immediately dropped El’s curls, her large round dark eyes widening as she turned to look at him, already babbling and holding her hands out for him.   
‘I’d grab her before she actually throws herself at you,’ El laughed, holding their daughter out, one hand under her bottom, the other around her waist, her body almost aching with the joy that filled her at the surprise and relief in Mike’s eyes at Tessa’s reaction to him. 

She knew he was trying to hide it, but they had always been able to read each other better than they knew even their own feelings and she could tell he was scared, that his strained and almost neglectful relationship with own father was playing on his mind. If only he saw himself like she did, she thought sadly. Because if he did, he would know that El had no doubts that he would be the best father in the world. He had already showed her over the years, except for the tiny blip that was their breakup, that despite his reckless actions sometimes and his temper flare ups that disappeared as quickly as they came and he regretted and hated himself for almost as soon as they were over, he protected and loved those he called his family fiercely and selflessly. That he would fight for them and do anything for them, even if it put him at risk. And she knew from the way he already looked at their daughter, like she was most precious thing in the world to him, that he would do the same and more for her.

El had to hold back an unexpected sob as Mike scooped Tessa up like it was the most natural thing in the world, cradling her to his chest, dropping his head to her curls to breath in the sweet baby smell of her, like he was trying to draw it into his memory forever. They were all together finally. They were a family. Or…well…hopefully…they would be one day. A real one, like they’d always wanted and planned for. 

She quickly wiped at the tears that had gathered on her lashes before he could notice, sniffling quietly, before pasting on a smile that didn’t fool Mike for a second, his face scrunching up in concern, opening his mouth to ask her if she was alright but she beat him to it, rushing to speak.

‘I’m starving’, she said, voice overly-cheerful to hide her sudden rush of emotions, not embarrassed in the least, they hadn’t ever been embarrassed to show each other what they were feeling, but not wanting to worry him, words quickly turning into a babble, ‘Come on, let’s go see if we have anything that will feed all of us. And this one must be starving after sleeping so long…’ 

They made their way downstairs, the house silent though still inviting as they walked into the kitchen. El absent-mindedly flicked her hand towards the fire and Mike watched, amazed, as blocks of wood began to rise from inside a box next to the fireplace and settle on top of the fire that was only smoldering coals at this point, a matchstick flashing to life, and soon there was a fire roaring and crackling inside. 

He felt like he would burst with pride as he turned back to El and saw she didn’t even have a hint of a nose bleed, her control over her powers awe-inspiring, something he knew she had always worried about when they were kids, that she had been afraid that she would never truly be able to completely command total control over. But here was the proof in front of him, the effortless and confident way she used them, making him wish he could go back in time and tell that scared girl just how strong she really was. 

‘I’m impressed,’ he told her, gesturing at the fireplace when El looked up from where she was beginning to stir oatmeal in a pot on the stove, lips pulled down in confusion, comprehension filling her face. 

She shrugged off his praise, concentrating on breakfast, dipping a spoon into the mixture, grimacing slightly at the blandness of it and quickly pouring in a generous dollop of honey, as well as some stewed pears and banana, mixing it all together. 

A thought suddenly occurred to Mike and his stomach felt like it dropped to his feet as fear slithered inside him, taking ahold of his throat and squeezing slightly. What if…did Tessa…did she have powers as well? 

The image of El the very first moment he’d seen her, soaked and shivering uncontrollably, freezing in the pouring rain, absolutely terrified as she stared at them, barefoot, wearing nothing but a thin, hospital gown, filled his mind and he suddenly found it hard to breathe, unable to stop the memories that came roaring back at him. Memories of her flinching every time anytime any of them tried to touch her, tattooed like a lab rat, marking her as the lab’s property, moaning his name as the Bad Men had tried to take her back in the school that horrible night when he’d lost her for the first time, back to the place that had been her prison her entire life. The image suddenly morphed, shifting and changing, until all he could see was a little girl, tiny and delicate like El had been when they’d first met. But she wasn’t El, her curls the same honey-brown, her face impish and fey-like, but she stared up at him with his dark eyes, stared up at him with a betrayed look, wearing the exact same hospital gown, lifting her too-thin arm to his eyes to show the black number that looked wrong against her otherwise flawless skin. 012. 

A horrible, guttural sound slowly reached his ears as Mike’s knees buckled forward and he shakily reached for the nearby counter, fingers scrambling for purchase, desperately trying to keep Tessa upright. 

It was only when he felt small, cold hands on his face, drawing him back slowly bit by bit, El’s voice barely breaking through the sound, that horrible, grating noise that seemed to fill the very space that surrounded them, that he realized with a quiet ‘oh’ inside his mind was him. 

He gasped, coughing, desperately trying to draw breath as his eyes water, chest feeling like it was going to snap in two if he didn’t get air into his suddenly burning lungs. 

‘Mike…Mike…it’s okay…breathe. You need to breathe, Mike, you’re having a panic attack. In and out, just like you used to tell me.’ 

A panic attack, he thought, absently even as he frantically tried to follow her directions, the lack of air making his head feel too light, like it was wobbling on his neck, his breath shuddering out and then, finally, he was able to draw it in, the frigid iciness of it easing the ache in his lungs, gulping it greedily. He hadn’t had a panic attack in years, not since that 353 days apart. They had started then and only stopped when she walked through the door of the Byer’s, saving them from what was sure to be excruciatingly painful death at the hands…or well, teeth, of the Demo-dogs, and bringing him back to life. 

‘Are you okay?’ El asked, her eyes huge in her suddenly white face, running her hand soothingly up his arm, chin wobbling, her other hand helping to hold Tessa up, whose lower lip was trembling, looking as concerned as he’d ever seen a baby, patting comfortingly at his cheek, as if making sure he was alright. 

Mike pressed his forehead to El’s chest, squeezing his eyes shut, listening intently to her heartbeat to try and anchor himself, feeling tears prick the back of his eyes as he felt her arms come around, holding him tight, Tessa pressed between them. 

‘I’m sorry…I just…. I suddenly thought…and…. does Tessa have powers?’ he managed to squeeze out, unable to lift his head as it drifted to the hollow of her throat, not wanting her to see how truly scared her was. 

Her hand that had been running through his thick dark hair soothingly stilled for a few seconds, her heart stuttering against his ear, before she slowly pulled back, so slowly he was almost she was trying not to startle him. 

El’s hands trembled as she lifted his head gently, her face crumpling at the heartbreak she heard in her voice, understanding immediately what had caused his panic attack only moments earlier. Oh, Mike, she thought, brushing her fingers along up his throat and along his jaw, trying to comfort him in any way she could. It was a terror she had known herself, all throughout her pregnancy and every day since, the fear that the contract she’d made them sign wouldn’t keep them safe, that they would rip it up and break their word as easily as they had all the promises they’d made to her in that place, promises that had been as flimsy and false as the smiles Brenner had given her, a pretense, just like the treats and gifts that had actually been bribes to try and get her to do the awful things they wanted her to do. 

It had kept her up at night, the fear that they would try to take her precious baby, take her and lock her up as they had her. It had taken Max knocking some sense into her, quite literally, she thought, remembering the way she’d smacked her over the head, and pinned the contract over her bed so she had to see it every morning, to read it again and again until she could speak it by heart, for her to finally to push the fear aside, the need to enjoy her life, to live her life with her daughter so much important. 

She took a deep breath, needing to chase that same fear out of Mike’s eyes, her fingers tightening on his cheeks slightly, so he was forced to look at her, to really see her, to make sure he took her words in. That he understood and truly believed. 

‘She doesn’t. Tessa doesn’t have any powers. Not yet, at least. And even if she does, I swear to you that she is safe, and she will always be safe. I will never let anyone touch her. Not to harm a single hair on her head. Okay?’ 

Mike’s lower lip trembled, and he nodded, a single tear sliding down his cheek that El wiped away gently with her thumb, leaning up to kiss his cheek, tasting the salt that it left behind. 

‘Okay’, he said, swallowing past the lump that had formed in his throat, voice croaky, pressing his mouth to Tessa’s hand where it still patted insistently at his cheek, as if saying ‘I’m here, I’m not going anywhere.’. ‘We’ll protect her.’ 

El nodded resolutely, a determined look crossing her face while stepped out of his arms to take their daughter, nuzzling her head softly, as if she needed to remind herself that she was there, that she was with them, and she was safe. 

‘Yes, we will’, she said, shaking off the melancholy that had come with the moment, and quickly swung into action, never one to dwell too long on things, settling Tessa into her highchair and buckling her in, popping a bright red bib around her neck. 

‘Can I help?’ Mike asked, feeling a self-conscious and lost with Tessa no longer in his arms as a barrier, unable to believe he had broken down like that. But he guessed that was what fatherhood was…or at least that’s what his Mom had always told him, that she worried about her kids from the minute she woke up to the second she fell asleep. 

Glancing up from where she was scooping the porridge from inside the now steaming pot, El smiled and held out a small bowl filled to the brim that she had cooled on the side as well as tiny baby spoon. 

‘Feed Tessa for me?’ 

Mike nodded eagerly and quickly took the bowl from her, settling in front of Tessa who was banging her hands excitedly on the tray in front of her, legs kicking as she saw the food in his hands. 

Mike grinned, digging out a generous spoonful before popping it into her mouth, laughing when she gobbled it down so eagerly that half of it ended up on her face rather than in her mouth. 

‘Looks like she got your table manners,’ he said, jokingly, remembering how ravenous El had been in those early years, grinning when El narrowed her eyes sternly at him, laughing outright when she flipped him off before turning her back on him to hide her smile. 

El spooned out two bowls for the two of them, making sure to leave plenty left over for the others. Her forehead puckered into a frown as she caught sight of the clock, stunned to see it was already nine and there was still no sign of life from upstairs, not even a single noise. 

‘Where is everyone? It’s suspiciously quiet up there’ she asked as she sat down, pushing Mike’s bowl towards his elbow, but he shook his head, wanting to finish feeding Tessa first, pulling weird faces as he scooped more food into Tessa’s mouth, barely an inch of her face not covered in the sticky food, some even having gotten stuck in the back of her hair somehow. 

El shook her head slowly, beyond amused, but so enamored by the sight of them together that she didn’t even mind the miss she would have to clean up later. 

‘No idea. They were out of the house before even I got up.’ 

‘What?’ El said, almost choking on the porridge she’d just spooned into her own mouth, ‘Where could they have gone?’ 

It only took her a few moments to spot the note that had been left tucked into the almost empty fruit bowl, reading the words quickly, her eyebrows rising with every word. 

‘Gone shopping. Be back with a surprise soon’, she said aloud for Mike’s benefit, a strange feeling of foreboding filling her. She loved her friend’s but knowing them as she did this could either be really good…or completely disastrous. What the hell could they be up to? 

Mike snorted, eyeing the note just as warily as her, obviously having the same thoughts. 

‘That’s not ominous at all.’ 

El let out a startled, splutter of laughter which quickly faded to a gentle sigh as Mike began to wipe gently at Tessa’s face with her soaked bib, trying feebly to try and clean the mess that covered her face. 

‘You’re good with her, you know? She’s usually a complete terror at any feed time, flings food everywhere.’ 

Mike glanced up at her, feeling his heart begin to pound, suddenly feeling open and vulnerable that obviously showed on his face, a fact that became apparent when El reached forward and took his hand in hers, squeezing gently. 

He rubbed his thumb along hers, back and forth, holding his entire focus on that single motion, feeling his chest crack slightly as he tried to hold all the insecurity that pushed forward inside. 

‘Do you…do you think I’ll be a good father?’ he asked, speaking the words aloud for the first time, unwilling to be this vulnerable with anyone else. He had only ever let El see this part of him, this open, bleeding, aching part of him that left him feeling like a scared, little boy. That needed reassurance and love, something she always given unconditionally and in abundance.

El scooted her chair forward, leaning her chin against his shoulder and nodding against his skin, shivering as she felt his breath brush against the skin of her neck bared by her sweater. 

‘I know you’ll be an incredible father.’ 

Mike closed his eyes, leaning his head against her, reaching up to play with the end of her curls that fell over his shoulder and onto his chest, letting her words settle into him, to sink in deep, knowing he would play them over and over in his mind, whenever he needed, her belief in him more treasured than she would ever know, than he would ever be able to put into words. 

Tessa let out a loud burp next to them, making them both burst into laughter, lifting their heads to turn and look at her as she laid back in her highchair, looking almost like she was in a food-coma, hand patting her full belly, eyelids drooping contentedly. 

‘See, Tessa thinks so too,’ El said, as she reluctantly pulled back from Mike, shooting him a bright smile as she shifted back into her own seat, pushing his bowl towards him once more. 

They eagerly dug into their quickly cooling breakfast, not feeling the need for words, content to just be in each other’s presence, basking in the ease and sweetness of the moment. 

They worked together to clean up the kitchen and Tessa, both seeming to know what the other needed without having to ask, that old, unspoken language quickly coming back to both of them as El silently passed Mike a wet face cloth to clean Tessa’s face and remove the soiled bib. Just as Mike was beginning to fill the sink with soapy water, the sound of car horn blaring as if someone was leaning on it made them both jump, El dropping the plastic bowl onto the floor, panickily juggling the ceramics ones with a yelp. 

Mike hurriedly reached out to steady her arms, returning El’s grateful smile as she placed the plates on the counter, wiping her hands on her tights, glancing curiously at the front door where the sudden thunder of footsteps could be heard running up the porch steps. 

‘What the actual hell…’ Mike muttered under his breath just as the door slammed open and all four of their friend’s burst into the house, Dustin at the forefront, a fluffy red and white Santa hat sitting precariously on his curls, a wide, excited grin crinkling his eyes. 

‘Ho, Ho, Ho, assholes!’ 

‘We come bearing gifts!’ Will said, jumping and down like an overeager puppy, his warm brown eyes lit up with anticipation. 

‘I repeat…what the actual hell?’ Mike said, looking completely bewildered as he picked Tessa up from her highchair, shaking his head slowly as he took them in, outright laughing when he spotted the elf ears sitting on Lucas’s own ears.

Lucas narrowed his eyes at him and stabbed at threatening finger at him. 

‘Not a word, Wheeler.’ 

‘I tried to stop them,’ Max said with a heavy, ‘what did I do to deserve this?’ sigh that she seemed to reserve for the boys in her life that she called friend’s, holding the Santa Hat that Dustin had obviously bestowed on her in between two fingers in front of her, face twisted with disgust.

El giggled, plucking from the hat off her hands and popping it on her own curls, their enthusiasm contagious. 

‘What are you four up to?’ 

‘Why don’t you just come and see,’ Dustin said, waving his hand forward, wiggling his eyebrows mysteriously, obviously trying to look like a magician. 

El outright cracked up and followed them out the door, shivering as the freezing wind immediately blew straight through her sweater that was too thin for the weather, rubbing her arms for warmth. But the cold was immediately forgotten when she stepped onto the first step and froze, her mouth falling open as she took in the sight in front of her. 

She felt Mike walk up beside her, his arm brushing her elbow, sans Tessa who from the sound of it had been stolen by Max who she could just make out cooing at her in a way that she would deny completely if ever confronted about it and kill anyone who taunted her. 

Her love for her self-appointed goddaughter- not that she didn’t hold the honor from the moment that El found out she was pregnant, the choice of godfather, however, being a bit harder- was brilliant, permanent and un-ending, and would have been a surprise to those who didn’t truly know her. She had been spoiling her from the second she was born, a fact that never failed to amuse El, showering her with gifts. And the love was mutual. Tessa loved Max almost as much as she did El, lighting up whenever she was in the room. 

Shaking herself from her thoughts, El turned her head to see Mike, who had actually remembered to grab a jacket, gaping at the car in the exact same way. 

‘What did you guys do? Buy the whole store?’ he said, tone disbelieving as he took in the sight before him. 

‘Pretty much,’ Lucas called from inside the house, voice proud. 

Lucas’s dad’s old station wagon was almost bursting with every Christmas-y thing that El and Mike had ever seen, and even a few they hadn’t before. Boxes and boxes of lights, bags of tinsel and wreaths, baubles of every colour and shape, and a massive star that was so big it would probably topple the tree over if they even managed to get it on top. Mike and El both eyed a bag full of suspicious looking clumps of green and red plants, turning to glare at their Will and Dustin who had followed after them who quickly turned away, whistling, deceptively innocent expressions on their faces. But what stood out the most was the giant tree that was strapped to the top of the car, so tall it was almost as long as the car and twice as wide. 

How did they even get that to stay on? Mike thought, flabbergasted, mouth opening and closing. 

‘That tree is a monstrosity’, he managed to gasp out, still unable to believe his eyes. 

‘Hey! I’m highly offended. We went to a lot of effort to get this tree,’ Dustin said, placing a hand on his chest, scoffing at them. 

‘So ungrateful,’ Will agreed, winking at a still stunned El, who was shaking her head slightly, blinking almost owlishly. 

‘Don’t lie, you jerks. We got it from a Christmas tree lot’, Max said, coming out of the house with Tessa who she had rugged up in a blanket, a purple beanie sitting on her bright red hair, nose pink from the cold, followed closely behind by Lucas who was pulling faces at Tessa who clapped her hand at hands at him, reaching up to tug at his fake elf ears, letting out a squeal of joy as it dropped off into her hands, leaving Lucas looking decidedly lop-sided, and not caring a whit, grinning almost boyishly down at her. 

‘Still effort was made, Mayfield. Only the best for our niece,’ he said, ruffling her curls. 

‘Uh…guys,’ El said, finally having recovered her voice, looking from the tree to her front door and back again nervously, ‘I don’t think that tree is going to fit in the living room, let alone the front door.’ 

‘Eh…we’ll make it fit,’ Dustin said, waving away her concern. ‘You two had the whole Scrooge thing going perfectly, but the experts are here now…’ 

‘Experts,’ Mike snorted, grinning when Dustin stuck his tongue out at him. 

‘…and we’ll be taking over,’ he continued, unperturbed, rubbing his hands together. 

El and Max watched from the sidelines, amused, as the boys began to drag the tree into the house, laughing as they heard them mutter and swear among themselves, determined to get in the house despite the tree, as El had warned, being wider than the doorframe. 

‘Push, damn it.’ 

‘I am pushing, what the hell are you doing?’

‘Ow, a branch just poked me in the eye.’ 

‘Eugh, I think I just some sap in my mouth’. 

After almost twenty minutes, El finally took some pity on them, all of them sweaty and gasping for breath at this point, faces red from swearing and exertion, and gave a tiny little push with her powers, laughing when the boys were thrown forward at the motion, all landing on the floor with a loud bang, groaning loudly. 

Mike turned to El, eyes narrowed slightly at her sweet smile, walking in with Tessa on her hip, who had watched on with wide eyes, followed closely by Max who looked way too entertained, not even bothering to hide her smirk. 

‘You helped, didn’t you?’ he said, gasping for breath, pushing back his sweaty fringe. 

El widened her eyes dramatically, blinking at him innocently. 

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mike,’ she said, her face not cracking even when Max cackled behind her, lifting Tessa’s hand for a high-five. 

‘I don’t care if she did. I’m just glad that is over,’ Will said, moaning as he crawled to his feet, hissing as he looked down at the graze of his elbow. 

Lucas rose to his feet, rubbing at his eye that was looking a bit red and sore, saluting El. 

‘Next time I’ll listen to you. Maybe I won’t end up blind then.’ 

‘Oh poor baby. You want me to kiss it better, stalker?’ 

Lucas raised an eyebrow at her, smirking. 

‘If you’d like, Mayfield.’ 

Max flushed red at his unexpected response, looking actually flustered for the first time since they’d all known her. 

‘I…uh…I mean…you wish!’ 

‘Smooth,’ El whispered in her ear, laughing when Max elbowed her in the rib, growling under her breath. 

‘Shut…up.’ 

Dustin rolled out from where the tree had partially pinned him, his hair full of some much pine needles he looked kind of like a porcupine, shaking his head like a dog. 

‘Enough dilly-dallying, time for the fun part, decorations! We have a whole list of things to do for the next six days and I won’t let us get behind schedule.’ 

‘What list?’ El asked, sending him a suspicious look when Dustin sent her a terrified look, clamping a hand obviously down on the pocket of his jeans where it was now obviously clear that the said list resided. 

‘You can’t see it’, he said quickly, wincing when Mike turned as well to give him an equally skeptical look, eyebrows drawing together. 

‘Why not?’ 

‘Because it’s a surprise. Jeez, guys, don’t give the poor guy a heart attack. Just enjoy the effort we went to,’ Will said, clapping Dustin on the back and leading him away from them, who thanked him profusely. 

‘God, I’d forgotten how scary those two can be when they team up.’ 

‘Me too. And we’re trying to get them together? What are we thinking?’ 

‘No, idea, man. But it’s too late to back out now, or we’ll have Max on our asses and she’s way scarier.’ 

Will shuddered, thankfully having never been on the receiving end of her wrath but had seen Lucas, Dustin and on a couple of occasions Mike cop it. He didn’t ever want to be on her bad side. 

‘Agreed.’ 

Mike and El exchanged an apprehensive look, both silently agreeing that their friends were up to something, but followed after them, deciding to let it go since they couldn’t prove anything. Yet. 

After Lucas, who had been voted the most capable of them and the least likely to crush himself with the tree, a title he wore with pride, puffing out his chest, screwed the tree into the stand with Mike holding it steady on one side with his hands and El on the other with her powers, turning it to the side to the hide the very obvious bald spot on one side from pushing the tree through the door, they broke into the many bags of decorations like they were little kids again on Christmas morning. 

Dustin and Will took control of the lights, wrapping so many layers around the tree that El was slightly frightened that they were going to burn the house down, reminding herself to come down later when they were asleep to remove a few, and when every branch was practically dripping with them, they moved on to the mantel piece and the back of the couches and the staircase banister. Max hung snowflakes and other festive items from the ceiling, a rare almost child-like smile curving her lips, eyes wide with happiness as the room slowly began to resemble a Christmas wonderland. Lucas took on the tinsel, dumping it onto the ground almost gleefully, wrapping Tessa in a small bundle, her eyes wide with wonder as she watched them dash around, following underfoot, a bit of tinsel dangling from one socked foot.

Will even climbed up on Dustin’s shoulders, El watching them like a hawk and holding them all steady as he lifted Tessa into the air, grinning as she squealed in his arms at being so high, not scared of anything, helping her place the star on the very top, the honor reserved for the newest member of the Party. 

That left Mike and El with the tree and they tackled the challenge with energy, putting baubles of all shapes and sizes and themes, silver angels, baubles of every colour of the rainbow, cheerful, red-cheeked Santa Claus riding his sled, reindeer in mid-flight, golden stars, snowflakes and miniature presents. Soon there wasn’t a single limb that was left naked and they convened in the middle of the living room, starving and exhausted but thrilled as they took in the sight before them, lying on the ground together, not a single part of them not touching someone else, Tessa sat on Will’s chest as she stared up at the now lit tree, her eyes wide and unblinking, toothless mouth hanging open, the lights reflected on her face. 

‘Guys, this is…I have no words’, El said, smiling widely, her hand pressed to her heart as she turned to look at them, tears prickling her eyes. She had missed this so much, the joy and love and fun this time of year had always been because of them. It was like just being together brought something to the holiday that just didn’t exist without them…like it was…

‘It’s magical’, Mike murmured next to her, and El’s swung her head towards him, mouth falling open as he finished her thought, throat going dry as his eyes met hers and he gave her that crooked grin that was reserved only for her, that was rarer and more precious to her than diamonds. 

Mike swallowed at the look she gave him, like he’d just said the most incredible thing, his heart pounding in the best possible way. Her fingers slipped between his, pulling them up to press a kiss to his hand and he let out a shaking breath, curling even closer into her. Who cared why? All he knew was that this moment was perfect.

They were so wrapped up in their moment that they missed the thrilled looks their friends exchanged, almost vibrating with their excitement. Could it be working already? They hadn’t even gotten through the first day yet. This might be easier than they thought. 

As the clock suddenly chimed that it was noon, El lifted her head in surprise, glancing down at Tessa who was beginning to droop against Will’s chest, fighting back a yawn. 

‘I better get this girl some lunch before naptime. You guys hungry? I could probably put together some sandwiches until we get to the shops.’ 

‘Oh, shit, I forgot, we’ve got some food in the car. It should still be good though with the cold. I’ll go get it,’ Max said, using Dustin’s shoulder to push herself to her feet. 

‘I’ll come help,’ Mike offered, rising to his feet as well, reluctantly letting go off El’s hands as she rose as well, beginning to walk towards the kitchen and front door respectively, Mike trailing after Max. 

‘Will, are you okay watching Tessa?’ El asked, turning back to ask him, her eyes widening when she found Lucas, Will and Dustin all grinning deviously at her, jolting slightly, licking her lips suddenly feeling nervous. 

‘Uh-oh’, Dustin said, sounding positively smug in a way that made El’s heart to pound, feeling Mike pausing beside her. 

‘What’s going on with your faces?’ Mike asked, eyebrows raised in bemusement. 

‘Look up,’ Lucas almost cackled, pointing his fingers to something in the doorframe above them.   
Both their heads snapped back so fast their necks cracked and gaped at the familiar plant that hung above their heads, tiny red berries almost gleaming in the light above them. 

‘Et-tu, Will?’ El said, narrowing her eyes at him when he began to giggle like a little girl, obviously enjoying their predicament, even as her cheeks flushed bright red, almost wanting to avoid Mike’s eyes, her heart pounding so hard she was afraid everyone could hear it. 

Will shrugged at her, mirth dancing in his eyes and across his twitching lips. 

‘Hey, tradition is tradition. Pucker up, sis.’ 

El cringed at his phrase, lifting her eyes slowly to Mike’s face, almost afraid to see what was written there. 

She was stunned to see him looking at her almost in a calculating way, a fact that made her insides squeeze almost nauseatingly. What was he thinking? Did he not want to kiss her? Oh, why did they have to do this to them? They hadn’t kissed in almost two years and the very idea of doing it at all, let alone in front of them, made her so nervous she was afraid she was going to throw up on him. She was so going to get them back for this. 

Mike watched the emotions racing over El’s face, her eyes huge in her suddenly pale face, fingers twitching in a way that betrayed the nerves that she was trying so hard to hide. If she was even half as nervous as he was, he didn’t know how she was hiding it half as well as she was. If Mike didn’t know her like he did he wouldn’t even be able to tell. But he did, and he watched to punch every one of their friend’s for putting them in this position and making her feel like this, determined to find and burn every damn piece of mistletoe after they somehow got out of this. But how? 

A thought crossed his mind and Mike’s frown immediately cleared, his eyes softening, and he lifted his hand, watching as El’s breath hitched, mouth falling open slightly. Her eyes widened even further, the pink in her cheeks making her look irresistible under the soft glow of the Christmas lights, and Mike had to fight back the urge to actually lean down and kiss her, the need to press his lips to hers again almost painful in its intensity. But he held back, tracing her cheek with his palm, leaning down to whisper in her ear. 

‘You trust me?’

El lifted her head to his, the nerves in her eyes fading completely at his words and she smiled sweetly, nodding immediately. 

‘Always.’ 

Mike grinned and leant down again, settling his hand on the curve of her waist, making a show of leaning towards her lips, his own breath stuttering in his chest when her eyes fluttered shut trustingly, before at the very last minute he turned to left and pressed his lips to the very top of her cheekbone. 

He pulled back, grinning as he listened to their friend’s groan and whine behind him, his smile softening when El’s eyes opened again and the smile she gave him almost made her seem like she was glowing, both grateful and adoring, for finding a loophole in their predicament. 

‘Clever man’, she said, feeling herself slide a tiny bit more in love with him at his gesture, for saving her from their friend’s scheming, and for being the man that he was, always saving her, even if it was just from mistletoe and not being ready to kiss him quite yet, not matter how much her body yearned to. 

She instead gave in to a slightly smaller urge and kissed him quickly on the nose, smiling when he flushed red, stepping back. 

‘Shame on you four,’ she said, glaring at each of them in turn, before turning and pinning Max with the same look who actually looked slightly afraid, shooting the boys a ‘help me’ look before she skipped off to the kitchen, humming under her breath contentedly. 

Mike barely heard Dustin mutter to Tessa behind him, ‘Your parent’s suck’ or see the completely unimpressed look she gave him that made Will and Lucas laugh, too busy staring after El, a lovesick look on his face as he rubbed his hand on his nose, a goofy grin stretching his lips. 

He ignored his friend’s playful ribbing as they passed him to go help Max and to deliver Tessa to the kitchen for lunch and her bottle before naptime and their complaints about dodging the mistletoe, ‘Do you know how long it took us to find those damn plants this late in the year? Why couldn’t you just kiss the girl?’ 

Oh, he would hopefully get to kiss his girl soon. But when he did finally get to kiss her, to hold her in his arms again like he so wished to, he was determined that it would be for them and for them alone. Just as it was always meant to be.


	4. in the meadow we can build a snowman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I'm so sorry that it has taken me this long to update. Life has just been chaotic lately and of course I had to binge ST3. I sobbed so hard I swear. Still not over it. How could they do that to us? Anyways...getting back to it. All the chapters are finished and edited so will hopefully be updating a lot quicker than before. Hope you like the newest addition and please please let me know what you think or any thoughts. It makes the whole long, tedious process all worth it :D

‘Will, come on, this is just driving me crazy. Please, just tell me what you have planned,’ El said, her voice almost edging into a whine as she stubbornly crossed her arms over her chest, pouting up at him, her arms barely meeting in her puffy white snow jacket. 

Will barely bit back a grin at the sight, holding the list she’d been trying to sneak from their pockets and other hiding places all morning over her head, waving it teasingly, lording his sudden superior height over her proudly. 

’Patience, El, jeez. All in good time,’ he said, tone playful, pausing when El’s eyes took on a delighted gleam, jerking backwards when he felt gloved fingers brush his wrist above his head. 

He spun around, hurriedly tucking the list back into his pocket and ogled at Mike who stood close behind him, hand still held in the arm, sighing defeatedly. 

‘Wow, Mike, really?’ 

Mike shrugged, completely shameless, dropping his arm and winking at El who giggled, obviously in on the little plot to try and expose their plan. 

‘What? You know we hate secrets. What did you expect?’ 

‘Now you know how the rest of us felt when you used to lord it over us during D & D campaigns. Payback time, Mikey-boy,’ Lucas told him, snickering when Mike threw a pillow at him, ducking easily, blowing a kiss when Mike glared at him good-humoredly. 

‘Seriously, you three? How old are you, twelve?’ Max said, shaking her nose, sniffing derisively at them from where she was tying on her shoes on the stairs. 

‘Says the baby of the group,’ Dustin teased, trying futilely to shove a beanie over the top of his riotous curls, sighing when it just popped straight back off. He threw it onto the nearby couch, admitting defeat, instead plucking Tessa off the floor when she’d been playing, transfixed, at a set of blocks the boys had bought her during their shopping trip the day before- ‘We have nine months to make up for’, Lucas had said when El had looked confused at the unexpected gift- sitting her on top of her shoulder, hands locked carefully around her legs to hold her steady. Tessa’s eyes widened, stunned to be so high, her pudgy fingers clenching into Dustin’s hair, making him wince slightly, reaching up to gently loosen her hold. 

Max flipped him off before slowly rising to her feet to the groans and complaints of the others, having had to wait an extra half hour for her to be ready, turning to grin, unconcerned, at El and Mike. 

‘Ready?’ 

‘For what?’ El asked, beyond aggravated, but followed behind them dutifully, if not a little sulkily, as they all just waved at Mike and her to follow behind them, grumbling under her breath. Her irritation only faded slightly when she felt Mike’s gloved hand wrap around her, slipping her fingers between his without looking at him, though she could just see a smile curving his lips from the corner of her eye. 

They followed after the others silently, walking down the pathway through the snow that Max and Lucas had cleared for them earlier that morning, Will and Dustin holding El and Mike hostage so they “wouldn’t spoil the surprise”. They were more than grateful for it now, the bottom of their pants and shoes only minimally damp. 

El’s face brightened as she felt a snowflake brush wetly against her cheek, lifting her hand up to catch one of the tiny clumps that was falling lightly from the blue-grey sky, wrinkling her nose slightly as she squished it behind gloved fingers. 

Mike looked back as he felt El come to the stop, tugging on his arm, a quiet, crooked smile quirking his lips as he watched her. God, she looked beautiful, he thought, her nose and cheeks quickly growing pink from the cold, looking like a fairy in the snow, dressed all in white. He jerked back inwardly at the thought, shaking his head at himself. They were trying to be friends. This…limbo they seemed to be caught in, stuck between friends and…more…was driving him insane, but no, he had to get a grip on himself. Now was not the time to be imagining kissing her…holding her…they weren’t there yet. Friends…he had to be her friend first. 

‘I can’t believe I was ever scared of the snow,’ El said, her voice dragging him from his torn thoughts, brushing a few curls from her face, spinning in a circle, dragging Mike with her, who laughed at the child-like gesture, ‘It’s so beautiful to me now. Thanks to you guys.’ 

Mike’s cheeks flushed at the praise, smiling even as he shook his head. 

‘No, that was all you, El. You could have gone back inside that day, but you didn’t, you stayed, and you faced it. You would have gotten over the fear even if we hadn’t been there. Tessa seems to like it too,’ he said, deliberately changing the subject to distract himself from the way she was looking at him, head cocked to the side, eyes bright with amusement, obviously not believing him but finding him adorable anyways. 

They both turned to see where Dustin had plopped her down in the snow a few feet away, her face peeking out from inside the hood of her massive pink snow suit that made her look like an adorable eskimo, her eyes wide, cheeks and nose red from the cold, as she picked huge clumps of snow in her hands and threw it into the air, blinking in bewilderment, letting out a little squeak, when it rained down on her, making all of them laugh. 

El grinned at the sight, her fingers tightening slightly around Mike’s, heart squeezing tight until it was almost an ache at how happy she looked, how her friend’s, her family, looked down at her, complete and utter adoration and love on all their faces, even though most of them had only known her for a couple of days. She felt a tiny bit of melancholy trickle inside her, an almost nostalgic sadness that she understood all too well, leaning against Mike’s side heavily.

Mike glanced down at her when he felt her fingers squeeze his, his stomach clenching as he saw the grief she couldn’t quite hide shift across her face, so quickly he would have missed it if he didn’t know her so well, tugging gently on one of her curls to get her attention, eyebrows drawing together in concern. 

‘El?’

‘It’s nothing,’ she said, laughing self-consciously, wiping at her damp eyes surreptitiously, not wanting the others to seeing, sniffling. ‘I’m just…I’m so happy that she gets to have all this from the beginning. You and Dustin and Lucas and Will and Max. A real family right from the start. I don’t ever want her to be scared like we were growing up. Not silly things like snow or monsters under her bed or the Bad Men. She will never know any of that exists, just like we shouldn’t have had to. I want her to have everything. I want her life to be fun and magical and bright always. I want her to be able to run through the woods without being scared of what’s lurking inside, to be not be scared of the dark but to see the beauty in the stars and the moon, to go to school, to have friend’s and just be…a kid. I have to give her that.’ 

She could just picture it, warmth spreading from the top of her head to the tips of her toes as she imagined her little girl growing up. Their little girl, dressed in brightly colored clothes, not a colorless, itchy hospital gown, her hair wild and full of leaves and sticks as she ran around the wood, building blankets forts in her pink and pretty bedroom, like the one that her father had made for her the night they met, where all this begun, learning to ice skate in winter, and going to her first day of school. Learning how to read maps and planning adventures with Dustin, Lucas teaching her how to use a slingshot, Max showing her out to skate and drawing with Will. Tessa deserved all of it, to be free and safe and loved, and El would do everything in her power to give it to her. 

Her own childhood had been a living nightmare that still woke her up in a sweat at night, but she wouldn’t swap it for anything. Not to grow up as Jane Ives, not to erase every moment of fear and pain and loneliness. Because Jane Ives, whoever she might have been, might have grown up with a Mama who loved her and a normal life, but she definitely wouldn’t have had met Mike Wheeler, her sweet, kind, selfless, brave Mike, and fallen in love with at twelve. She wouldn’t have met her friend’s and forged a bond through tears and blood, loss and loyalty, and the purest of loves for each other that nothing could ever break, not time or even separation. And she definitely wouldn’t have known how strong she truly could be, how much she could survive and how fearless and resilient she was, how much she could love others. 

Mike’s face fell slightly, the vehemence and determination in her words hitting him hard, and he nodded, unable to stop himself from pressing his lips to her forehead, squeezing back just as hard, sadness filling him.

She had lost so much, her entire childhood stolen from her by Brenner and the evil people in the labs who had kept her a prisoner, but the Party and Hopper and Joyce had tried to make up for it in anyway they could. Or, at least, he hoped they had. Her early years might have been full of pain and terror and completely lacking in the love that should have been her right, but they’d made sure they loved her as hard and as thoroughly as they could, pouring all the fun and joy and excitement into the years that followed her coming back. She should have had everything she’d said for herself, just like he’d had before the day he’d met El. And even though his childhood had abruptly ended that week in November, he wouldn’t change a single thing. Because he wouldn’t have her, his strong, resilient, sweet, powerful girl, or know just how brave he was, how far he would go for those he loved, that he could battle monsters and men eviler than the ones in the stories his Mom used to read him and he created in his campaigns, and win. His life would have been so bare without El, more than likely a carbon-copy of his parents, and he was so glad for her, for this chance they had for a life together.

‘It will be. We’ll make sure of it’, he promised her, lifting his head to glance at their friends who had turned away, obviously sensing they needed a moment and he had never more thankful to call them his.

‘I hope so,’ El said, her voice muffled as she buried her face in his chest, fingers clenching on the puffy material of his own jacket. 

‘I know so. Especially if she grows up here,’ he said, gesturing at the land around them, tone impressed as he really took it in for the first time since he’d arrived, the scene like something out of a movie, picturesque in its near perfection. 

It looked like something out of a fairytale, the mountains surrounding them on three sides, tipped with the purest white snow, untouched by human hands. The sky was a never-ending stretch of the palest blue, sun shining down weakly on the piles of snow that covered every inch of ground and the trees that lined one side of the land, growing and deeper into woodland. An almost perfectly round pond peeked just behind the farmhouse, frozen solid. 

‘Do you like it?’ El asked, biting her lip, not sure why she was suddenly so nervous, but she just knew that she needed him to love her home as much as she did, as irrational as it sounded, even in her own mind. 

Mike grinned, nodding. 

‘It’s exactly what I pictured for us. Why did you decide on this place?’

El took in the place she had her made her home and smiled, remembering the day she’d first seen and how it had instantly felt like home. 

‘I was almost six months pregnant when we finally found this place. I was exhausted and cranky, and my powers kept making things explode I was so irritable all the time. Max started carrying a tray around to duck behind whenever I freaked out. And if I wasn’t angry I was crying. I was a wreck. And every place the realtor was showing it just seemed wrong. I couldn’t help but find something I didn’t like about it; it was too small or too big or smelt weird. And then, she showed us the farmhouse. And something just clicked because it looked…’ 

‘Like Hopper’s cabin’, Mike said, his eyes widening with realization, remembering how he had thought the same thing the moment he’d seen it, how it had instantly made him think of El. 

El’s face lit up and she nodded. 

‘Yes. I mean, it’s a bit bigger…okay, a lot bigger,’ she said, laughing when Mike raised an eyebrow at her, expression amused, ‘But it looked almost exactly the same and it had everything I wanted, heaps of room to run, close to Hawkins’s, even a pond to swim in during summer and to teach the baby to skate on when it was older. I could picture a life here but I still…at the last moment I hesitated because it felt…it sounds stupid, but I felt like I was cheating on Hawkins’s’. 

She said it almost quietly, like she was confessing some horrible sin, and Mike couldn’t help but step a bit closer, lifting her chin so she was looking at him, hoping his touch was soothing, dark eyes intense on hers. 

‘Hawkins’s will always be home. No matter what.’

El swallowed hard, jerking her shoulders in some semblance of a shrug. 

‘I know. I think I knew that, deep down, even then, because I signed the contract that night and it was mine less than a week later. I’m glad you like it though…I mean,’ she said, pressing her hand to her face to try and hide the way her cheeks were quickly growing red in a way that had nothing to do with the cold, stammering out her words, ‘I know you…you said you pictured something like for us…before…when we were…us…What else did you imagine?’ 

Mike scratched at his head, fidgeting slightly as he tried to hide how anxious he suddenly was, fingers twitching against her own. 

‘Uh…well…I guess I wanted a place out of Hawkins’s…not far but enough that we had a bit of privacy. A place that was just ours. I wanted wherever it was to have a big yard, enough room for a vegie garden, and a swing set, room for our kids to run around and grow up in and possibly have a dog. We both wanted a dog growing up.’ 

‘Kids, huh?’ El said, smiling at him teasingly, delighting when his cheeks pinkened and he scowled playfully at her. 

‘Well, yeah. I grew up with Nancy and Holly and even though we wanted to tear each other’s hair out most the time I know they’d have my back no matter what, and I’d have there’s. I wanted our kids to have that.’ 

‘Hmm…I think that could be arranged,’ she said, smiling when he blanched at her, stunned, mouth hanging open. 

‘Which part?’ he asked, wiggling his eyebrows at her flirtatiously and El slapped at his arm playfully, laughing. 

Wait, what was she doing? Stop it, El, she silently scolded herself. What was she doing? Friend’s didn’t flirt, or…or hold hands…or kiss each other’s heads…or stare longingly at each other. Did they? God, she was so confused. 

‘Hey, love-birds, if you’re done flirting, do you think we could get started?’ Max called out to them, laughing when Mike and El swung towards them, their faces so red that they looked like tomatoes. 

‘Yeah, for people who just had to know what we had planned you sure are taking your time’, Lucas said, smirking at them as they trudged over to them, quickly dropping their hands and looking away from each other, El pushing past him to stand beside Will, stubbornly ignoring the grins and whistles they were shooting at them. 

‘Not a damn word,’ she muttered under her breath, elbowing Will when he giggled like a little schoolgirl, enjoying his little ‘omph’ as the air was knocked out of him. 

‘Grow up,’ Mike snapped at Dustin and Max who couldn’t stop laughing, pointedly turning his back on them and pointing at the pile of items he had missed earlier, nose crinkling in confusion. ‘What is this?’ 

Taking pity on him, and his obvious attempt at changing the subject, Dustin skipped forward, stepping carefully around Max who was sprawled next to Tessa on the ground, making a snow castle of all things with her that Tessa just seemed to enjoy knocking over more than anything, gesturing grandly at the ground in front of them. 

‘We, my very impatient friend’s, are having a snow men building competition.’ 

Mike and El both blinked, looking more closely at the items spread across the snow in front of them, including long sticks, stones, a bag of carrots, scarves, a bright red towels for some weird reason, a black bowler hat which came from god knew where, and several bottles of food dye. 

‘Snow-men? Really?’ Mike said, raising one eyebrow, half-amused and half-disbelieving, even as a tendril of excitement rose inside him, ‘Aren’t we a bit old for that?’ 

‘Oi! We thought long and hard about this one,’ Will said, mock-offended, crossing his arms over his chest haughtily. 

‘Speak for your myself, Mike. What worried we’ll beat your old, rickety ass?’ Dustin taunted, leaning against a nearby tree, grinning when Mike just curled his lip at him irritably, muttering under his breath. 

‘Rickety ass, my ass.’ 

‘No, we’re never to old,’ El immediately protested, clapping her hands excitedly, eyes wide with childlike anticipation, ‘We never did this as kids anyway. How have we never done this before?’ 

‘Yes, yes, I’m brilliant,’ Lucas said, dramatically waving his hand as if waving away her non-existent praise, ‘No need to thank me.’ 

‘You’re brilliant? This was one was my idea,’ Max cried, tone affronted, pushing at Lucas’s leg from where she sat on the ground, laughing when he let out a surprised yell, falling backwards into the snow, half-crushing the snow castle to Tessa’s obvious delight. 

‘Okay, here’s the rules,’ Will said, impatient to get started, whistling to get all their attention, ‘We all split into groups of two and we all have an hour to make the best snow man. Extra points for the most creative one.’ 

‘And who decides what the best one if we’re all doing this?’ El asked curiously and they all suddenly looked at each other, obviously having forgotten that pretty important details. 

‘Tessa, duh,’ Lucas rushed to say, waving over at Tessa who was babbling happily to herself, crawling towards El who happily scooped her up, walking over to the baby swing that hung from the tree, a blanket already at the ready and wrapped Tessa in it, settling her inside, quietly amused. 

‘Yes, sure, the six-month-old will be a great judge’, she said sardonically, shoulders shaking in laughter. 

‘Eh…we’ll work it out. Okay, now for teams.’ 

They quickly split into pairs, El and Will, Mike and Lucas, and Max and Dustin huddling together, shooting surreptitious looks over their shoulders at the others to make sure they weren’t eavesdropping, forming their separate plans. As soon as Max set a timer on her watch they hurriedly went to work, rolling their snow into balls and various other shapes, shoving as much into giant piles for themselves, bickering good-naturedly. 

‘Hey stop stealing our snow!’ 

‘Uh…it’s natures snow, not your snow. You don’t own the snow.’ 

‘If anyone owns the snow it’s El, it’s her house.’ 

‘Whose side are you on?’ 

They patted and shaped the snow, tongues sticking out in concentration, groaning and swearing loudly when certain parts collapsed. El’s began to shape the legs of their creation under Will’s strict instruction, her attention half-focused on keeping the warm pocket of air she’d formed around Tessa as she swung happily on her swing, kicking her legs in the open air, gulping down the bottle Mike had readied for her before they started hungrily, intact. 

‘Ten minutes,’ Max yelled out frantically all too soon and they all rushed to finish decorating, grabbing whatever they needed from the pile, shoving carrots, sticks and stones into place, forming faces and limbs, dressing it and then Max was calling time. 

‘Time, bitches. Drop your tools.’ 

They all dropped whatever they were holding, out of breath and full of adrenaline as they proudly at their creations, eyes widening in surprise.   
Lucas and Mike had made a slightly misshapen superhero, his black eyes made of stone and an almost proud smile carved into his face, stick arms resting on his hips in a heroic pose, the bright red towel from the pile fluttering in the wind behind him like a cape. 

‘Wow, guys that is seriously cool’, Will said, walking around it, nodding approvingly. 

‘Uh, you’ve got to be kidding me. This is so not fair,’ Dustin groaned, throwing his hands into the air as he walked around the almost ridiculously realistic dog that Will and El had created, walking as in mid-step, a green and red striped scarf wrapped around his neck, ‘Having Will is an unfair advantage.’   
Will blushed, ducking behind Mike to hide it who chuckled, while El just stuck her tongue out at him, grinning. 

‘Don’t be a sore loser, Dustin’. 

‘The only losers will be you two. Ta-da’, Max said, throwing an arm out and bowing to show Dustin and her own creation. 

They all stepped closer, mouths gaping open as they stared up at the creature in front of them, all words shocked right out of them. 

‘Well, you definitely get points for creativity,’ Mike said, a smile slowly spreading across his face, ‘Zombie Santa, right? Very Christmassy.’ 

And it was definitely creative, an almost five-foot-high Santa Claus, his fingers curled and covered in red and greyish green food dye, his mouth and fluffy snow beard covered in the same colors, as if he’d just been eating brains, a Santa Hat placed on top of his head, small black stones forming a menacing smile. 

‘Okay, yeah, I concede defeat, this is definitely the winner’, Will said, beyond impressed. 

‘Yes!’ Max and Dustin yelled, jumping up to high-five each other, ‘We are the best.’ 

‘Pfft…ours was so much better,’ Lucas said, wrinkling his nose slightly, tone joking. 

‘Aw, I’m surprise you’d say that, Lucas. I mean, we based it on you? Can’t you see the resemblance?’ Max said, biting her tongue to hold back laughter when Lucas swung towards her, eyes narrowed dangerously. 

‘Ooh, you’re asking for it, Mayfield’, he threatened, lips thinning. 

‘You don’t scare me,’ Max said, lifting her head dismissively in the air, turning to walk towards Tessa who had begun to droop, ready to get back inside out of the cold. 

Splat! She froze as she felt something cold slam into the back of her neck, yelping as quickly melting snow began to drip down the collar of her jacket, shivering uncontrollably. She swung around, teeth clacking audibly she clenched them, pointing a finger at him as the others looked on nervously, beginning to inch back. Lucas just looked on nonchalantly, picking at an imaginary piece of lint on his sleeve. 

‘You are dead, Sinclair,’ she yelled and every dove for cover, building snowballs as quickly as possible. It was war!

Dustin picked El up, swinging her around and behind a tree as she laughed loudly, batting at his shoulder. 

‘Dustin’, she squealed loudly as he dropped her beside him, grinning back at her. 

‘I get, El. You losers are going down!’ he said, giving out a war cry as he threw with all his might, cackling almost madly when he hit Mike squarely in the chest, knocking him to the ground. He let out a croaking gasp of his own when Mike retaliated from the ground, his aim having gotten better over the years, getting him in the straight.

Chaos broke out as snowballs flew from all directions, curses and cries breaking out as El used her powers to pelt Lucas and Will, who quickly called mercy, crawling away slowly on his belly to the relative safety of the porch. Max quickly ducked behind Tessa where she sat watching them, her eyes wide, protected by a pocket of air formed by El, holding her up as a shield, blowing a raspberry on her cheek. 

‘Ha! Shoot me now, jerks.’ 

‘You can’t use a baby as a shield, you monster,’ Lucas said, lowering the snowball in his hand with a horrified look, quickly surrendering, dropping it to the ground.

‘You’re just dirty you didn’t think of it first,’ Max said, grinning as one by one they quickly followed suit, throwing their snowballs down. 

‘That’s just Machiavellian of you, Mayfield,’ Will said, shaking his head even as he wiped a fake tear of his cheek, ‘I don’t know whether to be terrified or proud.’ 

The mood shifted abruptly as they heard the loud crunch of snow heading in their direction and looked up to see Mike stomping over, his face dark red and scrunched with a fury   
they didn’t understand. What was going on? Why was he suddenly mad? It became quickly clear when he pushed past Max, his hands gentle despite his obvious anger, and plucked a now yawning Tessa from her swing who was oblivious of the sudden change of atmosphere, turning dark, glaring eyes onto Max as he pulled Tessa from her grasp. 

‘Are you bloody serious? What the hell was that Max? This is not a freaking game. Don’t you ever use my daughter like that again,’ he spat the words, jaw clenched with rage, spinning around to head towards the house, spine taut and movements jerky, as if he was struggling for control. 

El pressed a hand to her mouth, eyes huge in her face as she exchanged a look with Max who looked stunned, confused and shamefaced all at once, devastated understanding filling her as she watched him falter slightly, coming to an abrupt stop, looking suddenly bewildered. Oh, Mike, she thought, walking quickly towards him, feeling like her heart was going to crack open in her chest. She knew that feeling, that need, no, that instinct that she could see written all over him, in the way his hands shook, making him snap and want to hide Tessa far far away from everything and anything that could hurt her. Those first few months, El had made entire rooms shake whenever they were out in public and someone approached them, seeing everyone as the enemy, trying to steal her baby. She had had months to get used to it, to learn how to control, but for Mike, who this had all just been thrust upon out of nowhere, it was different. It was all new and frightening and she didn’t know how to help him. 

‘Sorry, Mike. I didn’t mean anything by it, I swear’, Max called out, panic and despair filling her, voice shaking with guilt, biting and twisting her lower lip between her teeth anxiously. 

Mike stopped, letting out a shuddering breath, feeling his anger that had rose so quickly when he’d seen what his suddenly awakened protective instincts as his daughter in danger drain as El wrapped her hand around his wrist, squeezing gently, grounding him, even as he felt Tessa nuzzle her somehow warm cheeks into his neck, snuffling happily. 

What the hell was he doing? He thought, guilt rising inside him as the anger drained completely, letting him feeling cold and a little dazed, chest clenching tight even he took a few steps back away from them, ashamed of himself. Why did he react like that? He knew Max would never hurt Tessa, she had been there at her birth, been helping El raise her. She would rather cut off her own hand than hurt her. What was he thinking? God, he must look like a complete idiot. He just…couldn’t control it, like something had come over him, demanding he protect her. 

‘No, it’s…okay, Max. I know you wouldn’t hurt her. I’m just….’ He trailed off, looking suddenly so young and lost, unable to finish the sentence. He didn’t know what he was. 

Max nodded quickly, understanding, relief filling her blue eyes, still feeling slightly guilty at freaking him out. 

‘I won’t do it again’, she swore, tone serious. 

‘Let’s all go inside. I’m soaked,’ El said to lighten the suddenly tense air around them and they all nodded eagerly, all starting to feel the cold seeping into their wet outer gear and their stomachs beginning to grumble from all the activity. 

They walked into the house hurriedly, stamping the snow off their shoes and stripping out of their jackets. 

‘I’ll just go and get some hot chocolate started,’ Max said and Will, Lucas and Dustin all offered to help, Will patting Mike comfortingly on the shoulder as he passed, giving a small smile, Lucas and Dustin shooting him looks full of support and understanding. 

Mike nodded at them, smiling to show them he was alright, before turning to El who hovered worriedly near his side, her eyebrows furrowed, fingers still curled around his wrist. 

‘Are you alright?’ she asked, voice gentle and concerned making his eyes prick with sudden tears he didn’t understand. 

‘Yeah,’ he admitted, running a hand up and down Tessa’s back where she dozed contentedly against his chest, feeling his heart twinge sharply in a way that should have been painful but only made his arms tighten around her, never wanting to let go. ‘I just feel stupid for overreacting.’ 

‘It’s okay, Mike. It’s good for Tessa to know you’ll protect her. Even if it’s just from her Aunty Max’, El said, her hand lifting to cover Mike’s to stop the anxious gesture, ‘They understand, you don’t have to feel guilty.’ 

El’s chest ached as she watched the way Mike sagged, his lip twitching in a way that El knew meant he didn’t believe her, the guilt already eating him up inside. He shouldn’t feel a single bit of remorse for being protective of their daughter. Sure, he had overreacted a little, and El knew Max would never hurt Tessa, but it just showed just how much he already come to love her. He must be so confused, with everything going on between them, and then all these knew feelings and instincts he was just discovering after learning he was a dad, that he had this new little person in his life to protect and raise. She had had over six months to get used to the idea once she’d finally figured out she was pregnant and she had still been terrified. She only wished she could help more, but she knew Mike, knew he would want to figure it out for himself. 

‘I’m…I’m just going to take Tessa up, put her down for her nap.’ 

‘Okay,’ El said, rising on her tip toes to kiss Tessa’s nose, before pressing her lips to Mike’s cold cheek as well, squeezing his arm gently, understanding his silent request for time alone. ‘We’ll be downstairs if you need us.’ 

Mike nodded, pressing his lips together to keep them from shaking as he walked heavily up the stairs, disappearing down the hall and out of view. 

El pressed her hand to her mouth to hide the quiet sob that slipped from her lips, quickly taking a deep breath and straightening her shoulders, walking into the kitchen where the others were slurping down hot chocolate from steaming cups on the counter, two left for Mike and El. 

El picked hers up gratefully as she perched on one of the stools sitting in front of the counter, almost groaning as she took a sip and felt the warmth fill her stomach, warming her from the inside out. 

‘Is he okay?’ Dustin asked quietly, glancing worriedly up at the roof, his lips quirked down into a frown that was unusual to see on his usually cheerful face, as if trying to see through it to where Mike stood above. 

El nodded, leaning against Will who wrapped his arm around her waist even as she felt Max’s small hand slip into hers, looking up to return her sad and remorseful smile, squeezing her hand comfortingly, leaning her head against hers with a deep sigh. Lucas sat down next to her, pulling her legs up into his lap, giving her a small, understanding smile which El returned, reaching out to take his hand with the other. 

‘He will be.’ 

It was in the moment that Mike’s voice suddenly drifted into the room, barely audible over the Christmas music he had obviously turned on in El’s room, their heads snapping towards the monitor that El had forgotten to turn off when they’d come downstairs for breakfast. They listened, hearts speeding up in their chests as he began to sang softly to Tessa in the room upstairs, his voice a little off-key and shaky, as if he was fighting back tears, but full of such love that El felt her breath hitch in her throat, eyes once again filling with tears. 

‘…I just want you for my own, more than you will ever know, make my wish come true, all I want for Christmas is you…’ 

The tears spilled over, her cheeks grow hot and wet, and El burst into tears, burying her face into Will’s chest. She felt his hand tangle in her curls, shushing her quietly, rubbing her shoulder gently. 

‘It’s okay, El.’ 

‘I’m just so happy you are all finally here. I’m so glad they finally have each other,’ she sobbed, unable to stop crying, wiping at her suddenly running nose, and knew she would probably leave a stain behind on his pale blue sweater, her own guilt at not fighting harder to tell him, so she could have stopped him from ever having to feel this way, this confusion and guilt, rising inside her. 

Lucas, Max and Dustin exchanged looks and they rose to their feet quietly, surrounding El and wrapping their arms around her in a group hug, holding her tight.

‘We’re all here, El. Mike just needs a little time, probably feels really lost and confused right now, and probably seriously embarrassed but everything will be alright. I promise. No-one, and especially not Mike, blames you,’ Will said, kissing her forehead gently, not even caring that she was wiping snot on his shirt, only holding her tighter. 

And then, as she was surrounded by their friend’s held tight and safe and loved, she truly believed him. As long as they had this, each other, their little mix-matched family that they had created and which somehow worked despite all their differences and all the obstacles that had tried to come between them, their love and devotion for each other stronger than any force on earth, even her own powers, everything would always be right. Because they were a Party and they could get through anything. Together.


	5. Next year all our troubles will be out of sight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies! Wow, the response for that last chapter was incredible. I am in awe. I was actually losing my motivation with this fic for a while there and you guys have made all of it so worth it. Thank you. This chapter is one of my favourites of this story and was the most fun to write. I hope you guys smile as much reading it as I did writing it. And, looking at the date today, the 11th of July (for me anyways haha), the birthday of my imaginary Tessa, I couldn't resist posting the next chapter. Enjoy and please please let me know what you all think xx

Mike tossed and turned in bed, his eyes feeling gritty and heavy and sore with the need to his sleep, but his mind refused to shut off, his thoughts refusing to stop screaming at him until he thought he would go insane from it. He had heard the others come in hours ago, sneaking inside, trying not to wake him, obviously assuming that he had been sleeping when he hadn’t come down for dinner, but he hadn’t been hungry, the need to be alone overriding everything else.

He regretted it bitterly now, almost groaning aloud at the way his stomach squeezed painfully, starving as he was. Not even his thoughts could distract him from it, though they did the best they could. He was such a coward for not going downstairs, for facing her. He’d just been so embarrassed and didn’t know what to say, not to any of them. Everything was just so mixed up and uncertain. He knew he was Tessa’s father, but he didn’t know how to act like one. How did a good dad act anyways? He was obviously more worried about being a good dad than he realized. It wasn’t like he’d had the best role model to work from. What was too overprotective? And on top of that, he had to worry about what was going on with him and El. What the hell were they?

Not ready to go down that particular rabbit hole, Mike ran his hands through his hair in frustration, tugging on it, the tiny pinch of pain dragging him from his muddled thoughts that he’d been circling for hours, the distraction more than welcome. 

He pushed back the covers and got to his feet as quietly as possible so as not to wake the others, stumbling out of the room in the dark, shivering as his feet touched the cold floor. He squinted down at his watch as he stepped out into the hallway, groaning loudly at what he saw. 

2.14. It was almost mocking him, the digital light blinking up at him. 

Shaking his head, he made his way down the hall and then the stairs, heading towards the kitchen, knowing that El would have left him some food. He frowned when he heard music softly playing from downstairs, pausing on the stairs, head cocked. Had they left the radio on by mistake.

He hurried down the steps, not wanting the sound to wake the others but found himself stilling at the entrance to the kitchen, his fingers clenching on the open air as he found El standing in the kitchen rolling out lumps of white cookie dough, the delicious scent of shortbread filling the air around him. Hunger momentarily forgotten, he leant against the doorframe, watching her quietly, able to look at her to his heart’s content for the first since they’d arrived, his entire body relaxing. 

She looked soft and exhausted, dark circles under her eyes but looking more beautiful than ever, her untamable pulled up onto her head into a loose bun, curls spilling out everywhere, her cheeks flushed from the heat of the oven and stained with flour and cookie dough, swamped in a pair of too big pajamas with black and white cats on them. God, he wished he’d never agreed to this stupid trying to be friend’s thing. He wanted so much more than that. He wanted every part of her, to be able to hold her, to kiss her, to have that right again. He just wanted her back. 

El sang quietly under her breath, not noticing his presence in the doorway, lost in her own thoughts. She had been up half the night, trying to sleep after everything that had happened that afternoon, unable to get it off her mind or to numb the guilt she couldn’t seem to shake. 

Why, why had this happened to them? Why couldn’t anything ever go right for them? What had they done in a past life to deserve to be always separated, to yearn and pine for each other always? They should have done all of this together, Mike should have been with her when she gave birth, when she found out she was pregnant, and all the days and months that followed. And now…now that they were back together, when she finally had him back, she was more confused than ever. The way they touched and acted, what she felt for him wasn’t and would never be just as a friend. And she most definitely didn’t want to hug or touch or kiss Dustin or Lucas or Will like that, the very thought of it made her feel icky inside, skin crawling slightly, making her stick her tongue out in disgust. They were like her brother’s, the mere thought of it was just plain gross. Who were they kidding? Just friends? That just wasn’t possible for them. 

El looked up and jumped as she spotted Mike leaning in the doorway, his expression torn and almost fond, letting out a little squeak that made his lips twitch only slightly before his face fell again, face turning away from hers. 

‘Hey,’ she said a little awkwardly, blowing a stray curl out of her eyes, eyebrows crinkling with concern. 

‘Hey’, he said, forcing a small smile onto his face that didn’t quite reach his eyes, the tightness in his jaw displaying his real feelings. 

‘How are you feeling?’ 

Mike shrugged helplessly, rising from where he was leaning against the doorframe and coming forward to take one of the balls of dough, rolling it between his hands for something to keep his hands busy. 

‘I’m okay, I guess. Better. It’s just really confusing; I can’t seem to get my head around it all. I thought I had processed it, but I guess it just kind of hit me at once, you know?’ 

El nodded, leaning up against the sink behind her, wiping at the flour on her cheek, eyes bright with remembrance. 

‘I get it. I had six months to get used to the idea of becoming a Mama, you’ve only had three days, Mike. You’re putting too much pressure on yourself’, Like usual, she thought fondly, shaking her inwardly, ‘You’re brilliant with Tessa and she adores you, it’s obvious. She doesn’t let just anyone touch her. You should have seen the tantrum she threw earlier when Will tried to pick her up too close to her dinner time.’ 

‘I was wondering what that was about,’ Mike said with a weak chuckle, having been able to hear her indignant and furious screams even through his fog of self-pity and up one floor. She had clearly gotten the Wheeler temper, quick as a flash and gone just as fast. 

‘What I’m saying is that you don’t have to worry. You’re not your dad, Mike, and you never will be.’ 

Mike blinked at her, gaping for a long second before he let out a brittle laugh, squeezing his eyes shut to hide the tears that threatened to spill over onto his cheeks. Of course she knew what had been bothering him, probably even before he had worked it out himself. She had always understood him better than anyone else. God, his Dad had really done a number on him, huh? 

He coughed hard to rid himself of the lump sticking in his throat, opening his eyes again to see her watching him, looking at him all soft, like he was breaking her heart. He quickly changed the topic, if only just to get that devastating look off her face, hating that he had clearly worried her by hiding away. Was there no end to his sins against her? 

‘You’re up late. Couldn’t sleep?’ 

El looked down, unable to meet his eyes at his question, and began to knead the dough with an unnecessary amount of concentration, 

‘No. Um…honestly…I can’t stop thinking about….us’, and suddenly it was like a dam burst forth and El couldn’t stop the words from escaping, babbling uncontrollably even as she tried to stop herself, eyes growing wider and wider, fingers clenching in the dough until it was unusable mess in front of her, ‘I know we said we’d be friend’s and that’s fine, that’s cool, and that was my idea so I have no right to say anything…But we…it doesn’t feel…it doesn’t feel right for us to just be friend’s. Not the way I…the way I feel about you…I don’t know if you feel the same and that’s just…so much is left unsaid and figured out and I’m just so scared that in a few days you’ll be gone and I still won’t know where we stand.’ 

El bit her lip hard, cutting off the babble of words, her cheeks feeling like they were on fire, completely mortified. Oh god, could this be any more embarrassing? What if Mike didn’t actually want to be with her like that anymore? What if all this was just in her head? She would never be able to look at him again. 

It made Mike’s throat hurt to look at her, to see the obvious pain and confusion etched in every curve and line of her face, though a part of him was relieved, relieved that she was just as confused as him. He stepped forward quietly, his hands covering hers and pulling them away from the dough, lifting one slowly to his mouth. 

El’s eyes widened, snapping up to his, unsure if she was even breathing as she watched him bringing her hand to his mouth, kissing the palm of her hand and taking some of the excess dough, leaving the hot imprint of his lips against her skin. Her fingers clenched in his, fingers curling almost protectively around that heat, wanting to hold onto it as long as possible. 

Mike looked at her, all soft and tender, reaching up to cup her chin in his now sticky hand, giving her a sad crooked smile, eyebrows drawing together.

‘I’m scared of that too. So let’s talk. Let’s figure out what we want and decide if we should become…us again.’ 

El nodded, throat suddenly tight as they slide down to sit on the floor, leaving against the cupboards, legs stretched out in front of them. Their fingers tangled together, their sides pressed together, as close as possible. 

Neither of them knew where to start, sitting silently for a long moment just staring down at their joined hands, barely daring to breathe, both sensing just how big this moment was. This conversation could change their entire lives. It could change everything. 

‘When…everything happened before…after the break-up,’ El said, her voice hitching on the word, feeling more than seeing Mike flinch beside her as well, but pushing through, needing him to hear her words, to truly understand what she was saying ‘and I realized I was pregnant, I was so relieved. It shocked me. I was terrified taking the test, I didn’t even really want to. I think a part of me already knew but I was in denial. Max held my hand the entire time we were waiting and kept me from hyperventilating. I knew I wasn’t ready to be a mother; I didn’t know what to do with a baby. I could barely keep myself alive, I was sleeping in a car with Max, I had no money at that point, nothing. And I couldn’t go back to Hawkins’s. But the second I saw that little pink plus sign I was so happy I burst into tears and I couldn’t stop. Because I realized that with this baby I still had you. A part of you anyways. I loved her from the moment I knew she existed, because we created her, Mike. And it only made me love you more. And I knew that no matter how hurt or angry I was at you; nothing had changed for me. I still loved you then and I still love you now. There would be never be anyone but you for me and I would wait, no matter how long it took.’ 

‘I came to Hawkins’, Mike suddenly blurted out in shock at her words, at her confession, and El stuttered to a stop, turning her head to stare at him, so still Mike was worried he’d broken her, the silence stretching so long it made him twitch, holding his breath, suddenly terrified. 

‘What?’ she whispered, her body beginning to shake beside him. Mike’s hand clenched on hers and he rushed to speak, to finish it, to tell her what he’d wanted to tell her for so long. 

‘I knew I made a mistake the second I hung up that damn phone, El. I destroyed my whole life with that one phone call. It only took me a couple of weeks to pull my head out of my ass and come running back to you. I was going to beg…I was going to do anything you asked to get you back. I drove all night to get to Hawkins’s and when I got there….’ Pain lanced through Mike at the memory, spreading all through his body until it felt like a single, throbbing ache, ‘that’s when Hopper told me I was too late.’ 

‘I…I didn’t know. I wish I had.’ El said, her voice shaking, unable to believe it, but knowing it was true, his words shattering her and full of truth, face full of anguish as he squeezed her hands so tight El could almost feel her bones grinding together. Knowing this…it would have changed everything. ‘I would have come home.’ 

‘I’m kind of glad you didn’t’. 

‘What?’ El said, her head snapping towards him, eyes wide with hurt. 

‘No, wait…I didn’t mean it like that’, Mike said hurriedly, reaching up to tug at his hair in frustration. He was doing this all wrong, the words coming out terribly. ‘Losing you, El…you leaving showed me exactly what I had lost. What I had thrown away. You deserved more than a half-assed apology. I know what it’s like to live without you, to truly believe without a doubt that you weren’t ever coming back. That feeling…it scared the hell out of me. I know I don’t deserve you, El…’ 

Shaken from her shock, El shook her head quickly, face disapproving. 

‘You made a mistake, Mike…’ 

‘No, I was arrogant dick thinking I knew the best for everyone. I should have just talked to you, explained how I was feeling and maybe this wouldn’t have happened.’ 

‘Yeah, that would probably would have been the mature thing to do,’ El said sardonically with a little harsh laugh, her heart aching, feeling again the agony that his words had ripped through her when he’d called, more painful than anything she’d ever felt, destroying her life in less than five minutes, the future she’d imagined, her life with Mike, suddenly gone, and she’d been so lost, so lonely and empty. Everyone was gone, she had been left behind. She had nothing good left. And so she’d run. Run as far and for as long as she could, with no plans to ever return to the place where he, where they, no longer and never would exist again. Or so she’d believed. 

‘I think you’re right though. We’ve both changed because of this. We learned and grown in ways I don’t think we would have if we stayed together. We’d been together since we were thirteen and twelve and I don’t think we knew who were outside of us. So, in that way, I think it was partly a good thing. I mean, it hurt like hell, and has opened up some serious wounds and issues, abandonment and self-hatred to name a few, but we now know that we can survive outside us, on our own, but we just don’t want to. That we really want to be together and love each other still. That we aren’t just together because it’s convenient or expected.’ 

Mike could see it clearly, the way she said it. The way they might have come to resent one another, as their lives went in the direction that everyone had expected, getting married and settling into Hawkins’s just like his parent’s had before him. The idea that they could have turned into his parent’s, resentful and distant, barely speaking to each other, stuck together just because it was the done thing, made him shudder with horror. He’d already begun to feel the beginnings of it, held back by El’s very existence, an idea that haunted him in its ridiculousness. 

And now…out of the shitstorm that had been created from his own actions, as well as fate and circumstance, he could see nothing but light and brightness and opportunity in their future. A clean slate for them to write and create together, a future for their little family. 

‘If we do this, Mike, and I want to so badly, I need us to communicate. Silence scares me nowadays. I want us to talk, no more holding things back or in. If we’re upset about something we say so and we figure out a solution. We make decisions together on everything. Deal?’ 

El held out her pinky, not even trying to hide how her hands were shaking, her heart hammering in her chest, awaiting his answer with bated breath. 

Mike let out a gasp that quickly turned into a sob at her words, at what this moment truly meant, the beginning of them again and nodded, all seriousness as he reached forward, wrapping his pinky around hers, pumping once. 

‘Deal.’ 

El felt her face crumple slightly and she buried her face into his chest, stopping the tears that wanted to burst forward with monumental effort. This wasn’t a moment for tears, this was a moment for joy. She wrapped her arms around his waist, feeling his cheek lifting against her temple, sensing the smile that he couldn’t hold back, her own lips tugging up to mirror it. 

They sat there, not even feeling the cold of the kitchen floor seeping into their thin pajamas, fingers tangling together on Mike’s thigh, breathing each other in, not needing to speak, just enjoying each other’s company. They almost feel asleep, lulled by the feel of the other’s heart against their arms, steady and comforting. So El immediately felt it when Mike’s heart jumped, shifting to lift her head off his chest and sit higher against the cupboard to look at him, forehead puckering in concern.

‘Mike?’ 

Mike sighed, huffing out an amused laugh, knowing he was caught, that he had betrayed his thoughts somehow, and sat up, turning to look at her, playing with her fingers gently as he took a deep breath. 

‘I want to leave school. Study by correspondence’, he murmured, the confession almost too quiet in the hush of the early morning that El barely caught it. When his words finally registered, however, she scrambled back to stare at him, her eyes wide. 

‘Mike, no! You worked so hard to get in. You shouldn’t do that for us. I don’t want you to miss out on anything. This was your dream’, she said, panic rising inside her, almost hyperventilating on it, gasping and choking for breath. This was what had broken them last time, Mike feeling like he had to give up things for her. She couldn’t go through this again, she couldn’t. She wouldn’t survive it this time. 

‘El, El, breathe, it’s okay,’ he said, cupping her face in his hands, running his thumbs along her cheekbone to try and soothe her, expression open and earnest, full of truth, even as the fault-line in his chest that had begun to heal since he’d found her again fractured a tiny bit at the words she gasped under her breath, not even sure she knew she was speaking, panic in her eyes. ‘It’s different this time, okay. I’m not doing this for you…well, not just for you. This is for me. I’m doing this for me. I wouldn’t be missing out on anything. I was miserable there. 

‘I didn’t make any friend’s, not really. All I did was go to class and then back to my dorm. I barely did anything but exist…if you could even call it that. I can still get my degree and teach but I’d be here with you and Tessa. You’re more important to me than anything else and I don’t want to miss any more of our life together. No more putting it on hold. I want to start now. This right here was my dream, first and always. Us.’ 

El’s lower lip wobbled, sniffling as her eyes grew wet. She searched his eyes, seeing the utter truth written in every line and crease of the face she adored and let out a quiet sob, leaning forward and pressing her lips softly and sweetly to his, needing his lips on hers and hers on his more than she needed her next breath. It felt like home. 

Mike jolted, not expecting it, but he recovered quickly, leaning forward to cradle the back of her head in his hands, wrapping the other arm around her waist to pull her almost into his lap, wanting her as close as possible. He kissed her sweetly and reverently, as if he were trying to heal every broken piece inside them both. 

El curled her fingers into his messy black hair, pulling back to take a huge gulping breath before diving in for more, savoring every brush of his lips against hers, every touch, the way their breaths mingled, and the taste of toothpaste, cookie dough and something else that was simply Mike. 

She couldn’t stop the smile that spread her cheeks, feeling his own grin against her lips as they pulled back breathlessly with a laugh, looking at each other, cheeks flushed pink. 

‘I love you, Mike’. 

Mike’s smile was almost blinding in its brilliance and he leaned forward to nuzzle his nose along hers, pushing her hair back from her face, dark eyes crinkling. 

‘I love you too.’ 

The record changed in that moment, and Judy Garland began to croon softly to them in the background. Mike rose silently to his feet, holding out his hand to her, a soft smile on his face. 

‘Dance with me?’ 

El smiled, nodding, taking his hand and letting him pull her to her feet. 

‘Okay.’ 

El moved happily into his arms, laying one hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat against her fingertips, letting out a soft exhale as they began to sway. Mike hummed above her along to the carol, resting his forehead against the top of her curls, running his fingers along her spine up and down, unable to remember a time he had been happier than right this moment. He had his El back. And this time he would never let her go again. 

‘Let your heart be light, next year all our troubles will be out of sight…’ 

The words reverberated through El, so hopeful and right, as it had been crafted just for them, for this very moment. Warm and sleepy, more content than she had imagined possible only a few days before, El smiled and pressed a soft kiss just above where she could feel his heart, her own skipping a beat as she felt Mike’s arms tighten around her, pressing a warm kiss against the skin at her temple. 

And she felt, for the first time in forever, that maybe magic really existed, that the miracles they always talked about happening at Christmas really existed. It was insane but it felt true, because if it wasn’t for that avalanche, when no snowstorm had been predicted for that week, that had kept Mike and their friends from Hawkins’s they never would have found each other. And if that wasn’t magic, the very magic of Christmastime intervening for them, bringing them back together, she didn’t know what was.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh god I have been almost negligent updating this fic. Guys, I am beyond sorry. I promise (to try) to update much quicker in future. I hope you like this next chapter. Only two more to go (possibly a bonus one if I get the inspiration to write it), I can't believe it. Hope you guys enjoy and please let me know as always.   
> P.S. Also someone pointed out that I had mixed up the dates for Tessa's age and birth and I am so sorry. I mixed up my notes and Tessa's birthday is actually in March, not July. Hope that helps.

‘This is hell’, Mike whispered, complete horror and a slight tinge of horror in his voice as he stared, gaping, at the throng of people pushing and squeezing their way around stalls and them, the roar of hundreds of voices deafening in the tiny space of the Annual Christmas Markets. 

‘Holy shit!’ Dustin muttered under his breath beside him, blinking rapidly, letting out a quiet whistle between his teeth. ‘I am not too manly to admit that I am actually terrified. Why are there so many people here? Why does everyone insist on doing their shopping at the last minute?’ 

Will let out a little grunt, rubbing his chest where someone had actually pushed him to get a stall filled with themed tea towels of all things. 

‘You mean like us?’ 

‘Our holiday wasn’t exactly planned,’ Lucas pointed out, glaring at someone who bumped into him, elbowing them as they got too close to Tessa who was strapped to Mike’s chest, her eyes huge in her head as she took in the bustling, crazy crowds, tight brown curls sticking up all over her head like a little birds. 

‘What did you four expect?’ Max asked, peeking around Dustin’s shoulder, her and El coming up in the rear, letting the boys clear a path, rolling her eyes. ‘It’s the 22nd, people officially have Christmas fever.’ 

‘Buh-buh-buh…’ Tessa babbled, her little face screwed up in concentration as she sucked on her teething ring, looking up at Mike with a wide, gummy grin which he turned, squeezing her chubby leg lightly. 

‘Exactly. See Tessa gets it’, Max said, cooing at her in a way that made the boys go ‘aw’ at her, earning a sneaky middle finger in return behind her back, giving Tessa a tiny fist bump. 

El exchanged a look with Mike, pulling a face that had him biting back a grin, reaching backwards to tangle his fingers in hers, hidden by their jackets, both amused by their friend’s antics. The feeling of his fingers bare even in the cold, against her own made El shiver and she didn’t even try to hide the smile that hadn’t left her face in the last two days, so happy she felt like she was glowing with it. She had no idea how the others hadn’t noticed the way they’d been acting, always touching and smiling at each other, unable to keep their happiness at being back together inside. They hadn’t even seemed to notice the little kisses they’d been sneaking in front of them, unable to help themselves. She was a tiny bit glad though, glad that Mike and she had had this time to just themselves, without having to answer the many questions they were sure to have. Time to just settle into being them again. 

They didn’t let go of each other’s hands as they began to walk to a more open space where they weren’t at risk of being trampled to death, the boys forming a protective circle around Mike and Tessa, looking like a small army of soldiers, glaring at anyone who got too close, an action that El found adorable. 

She let out a little squeak when she felt herself yanked backwards, a smaller hand wrapped around her wrist, causing her to abruptly let go of Mike’s hands. She spun around and felt her stomach drop slightly in appropriate apprehension as she found Max standing in front of her, a speculative look on her face, lips curled into a smirk that El couldn’t help but find slightly threatening. 

She glanced anxiously over at where Mike was quickly disappearing into the crowd, shooting him a ‘help me’ look, obviously feeling as bereft as El did at the loss of his touch, his hand grasping confusedly at the suddenly empty air beside him for a few seconds, before he glanced her way. 

He shot her a helpless look as he took in her situation, gulping when she narrowed her eyes at him dangerously, hurrying away as fast as he could. 

‘Coward,’ she muttered under her breath, letting out a heavy puff of breath before she turned to look at Max who was waiting expectantly, looking like she was seconds from tapping her foot impatiently. 

‘So…how are things with you two?’ she said, her tone innocent and way too casual, though her face was anything but, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively, a wide smile twisting her lips, flicking a pointed look at where Mike and the others had wandered into a nearby stall, looking way too intently at a handmaid jewelry box. 

El tried to keep her face carefully blank, but she couldn’t quite hold back the blush that rose steadily from her chest to her cheeks. She glanced quickly away, avoiding Max’s eyes. Ugh, curse her for being the only observant one in their group. 

‘Nuh-uh,’ Max said, grinning as she caught El’s arm, preventing her obvious attempt at an escape as she tried to walk past her. ‘You don’t fool me, El Hopper. Spill it.’ 

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about’, El spluttered, squirming under Max’s gaze, feeling actually pinned by her gaze. 

Who did she think she was fooling? Max thought, grinning as she watched El squirm, biting back a laugh. Did they really think she wasn’t going to notice the way they were acting the last couple of days, all the gooey looks, the kisses they thought they were being sneaky about, suddenly acting as disgusting cutesy as they were back in high school? She was not as oblivious as those other three dorks, a term she used affectionately. They were here dorks after all. 

‘Eleven’, she said when El remained silent, crossing her arms over her chest, lifting her chin expectantly. 

El raised an eyebrow at her, suddenly amused. 

‘Maxine?’ 

Max winced, pulling a face. God, she’d forgotten how dirty El could play. She wasn’t the only one with an unfortunate name and she would use that to her advantage. Why did she ever tell her full name again? Oh right, because best friends had to know everything about each other, or some bull. 

‘Touché. Come on, El, I’m not blind. I know something is going on so you might as well tell me. Not that I want details,’ she said, hurriedly, sticking her tongue out in disgust at the thought, ‘because just…ew. I watched you two suck face way too many times in school, I have reached my quota.’ 

El bit her lip for a second, but she couldn’t contain the smile that had wanted to come out any longer and it suddenly spread across her face, completely lighting her up, and seeming to grow bigger with every second. 

‘We’re back together’, she gasped out, her insides quivering excitedly as she was finally able to admit it aloud, barely holding back the squeal that wanted to escape. 

‘What?’ Max, however, didn’t have that problem and practically screamed the word, her eyes bugging out of her eyes before she slapped a hand to her mouth, jumping up and down. She hadn’t been expecting that, thought maybe they had decided to test the waters out, or were having a little Christmas tryst, but together and so soon! The boys were going to be so excited. And before Christmas too! 

‘El, oh my god, I’m so happy for you both,’ she said, jumping into her arms and hugging her tight in a rare show of open affection, both of them laughing, their hair tangling together and almost choking them both. 

‘Oh damn, now I really have to give him the “I’ll kick his ass talk’, Max fake-groaned, grinning when El pulled back to blink at her in surprise. 

‘Isn’t that Will’s job?’ she said, causing Max to let out a surprised snort, rolling her eyes in Will’s direction. 

‘Please…I love Will but he’s such a sweetie he couldn’t threaten a chipmunk.’ 

‘You are aware that I can move things with my mind right? I could literally just throw him through a wall if I wanted- not that I would’, El said quickly, even if the thought had occurred to her during the two years they’d been separated, and she’d been having one of her worse bouts of morning sickness. She hadn’t really meant it though. 

‘It’s always good to have a backup, just in case. So if that boy does you wrong, I’m only down the hall.’ 

El couldn’t help but laugh at her, shaking her head at her. 

‘I’ll keep that in mind,’ she said, dryly before she gave Max a look she couldn’t decipher and that made her pause, eyes narrowing at her suspiciously. Her suspicious only grew as she watched El’s eyes dart around slightly, a sure sign that she was definitely hiding something. ‘I have something to ask you.’ 

‘What?’ Max asked, her forehead puckering in confusion, crossing her arms over her chest, unsure why she suddenly felt nervous, trying to hide the sudden need to fidget as El turned her gaze on her, eyes unblinking and steady. 

‘Mike and I were talking last night and we…we decided something. Don’t freak out, okay, but before I ask you I just need to say something first. I wanted to say thank you.’ 

Max’s frown only deepened, her obvious confusion written all over her face, pushing her messy bright red hair back impatiently, opening her mouth to speak. She let out a grunt of annoyance when El held up her hand to interrupt, but nodded for El to continue, if grudgingly. On the scale of things she hated being out of the loop definitely ranked pretty highly on the list. 

El’s face softened and she took Max’s hand in hers, squeezing gently. 

‘I don’t know what I would have done or where I would have been if you hadn’t been here with me for the last nine months, Max. I never would have been able to do this, any of the last six months with Tessa without you. I wouldn’t have come out of it sane and you were always there for me, even when I was a complete monster with morning sickness and the crying and the hysterics. You helped me when you didn’t have to, you could have just gone home. You did way more than most people would, stayed up with me those first few weeks after Tessa was born when I thought I wouldn’t get a full night’s sleep again, convinced me I wasn’t a complete failure of a mother. You’ve helped me raise my daughter when Mike couldn’t, when I thought I couldn’t sometimes, and you are the best friend anyone could ever ask for. So, Max Mayfield, I want to ask you to please be Tessa’s godmother.’

‘What?’ Max whispered, her eyes growing wide and then wet just as quickly as she stared up at her, voice hitching, unable to believe the words she’d just heard. ‘Me? You want me? Are you sure?’ 

El nodded, her own eyes growing teary, smiling at her brightly, the edges wobbling slightly, as she tried to hold back tears.

‘More than sure. And Mike agrees. You love Tessa so much and there is no other person we’d choose to be our daughter’s godmother or trust more. So is that a yes?’

Max flung her arms around El’s neck, holding on tight even as she nodded against her shoulder, cheeks wet as she let out a quiet sob. What kind of question was that? As if she was ever going to say no. She loved that little girl more than she ever thought she’d love a kid. She had never been one for kids, all snotty and smelly and sticky, ugh. But she’d fallen for that kid from the second she’d come out screaming her lungs out, perpetually grumpy, and the perfect mixture of some of her favorite humans, furious at being so rudely pulled into the world. And the fact that Mike had chosen her as well, that he trusted her to do this, especially after the other day and the rocky start to their friendship, just made it all the more incredible. Look how far they had come. 

Max pulled back after a few minutes, sniffing loudly, wiping at her cheeks furtively. She glanced over her shoulder, groaning when she noticed the boys watching them curiously, quickly ducking her head to hide her face, knowing it must be bright pink and splotchy from crying. 

‘If you tell the boys I actually cried I’ll deny it,’ she said, shaking her hair back, patting her cheeks to try to get herself back under control. 

El grinned, hugging her again, so full of happiness she thought she’d burst from it. 

‘I’d expect nothing less.’ 

They walked back over to where the Party waited for them, El moving towards Mike while Max reluctantly stood next to the boys, keeping her chin tilted away from them purposely. Will ignored her attempts to dodge his sight, leaning down to peer into her face, raising his eyebrows as he took in her face, eyes red-rimmed and nose pink as it only went when she cried. 

‘Have you been crying?’ he asked, shocked, glancing at the others who moved closer, Lucas even grabbing Max’s face gently in his hand, tilting her face up, expression inching into a deviousness that was too close to teasing territory for Max’s peace of mind. 

‘What? No! You’ve been crying,’ Max said, yanking her chin out of his hand and spinning around to give them her back again, tucking her scarf closer around her face, making the boys exchanged bewildered looks, exchanging shrugs that clearly said ‘Who knows? That girl is crazy.’ 

‘Oh-kay…’ Dustin said slowly, spinning his finger near his ear, mouthing ‘She’s finally lost the plot’ to Lucas who nodded seriously, edging away from Max nervously who looked like she was going to burst into tears again any second, her bottom lip trembling as she played with Tessa’s hand as she was held by Will who had pulled her from the carrier.

El let out a laugh at Max putting her threat of denial into practice so quickly, leaning up against Mike’s side, not bothering to hide the affection any longer. It was only a matter of time now that Max knew before the boys would find out their little secret, and she found she didn’t really care much as she rose on her toes and pressed her lips to his in a brief but sweet kiss, feeling him smiling against her. 

‘How’d it go?’ Mike asked after letting out a quiet, content sigh, slipping his fingers between hers again, tugging her under his arm, enjoying the feeling of her against his side. 

‘As if the tears don’t tell you everything. I think it really made her happy that you agreed too.’ 

Mike frowned slightly, feeling a touch of guilt rise again at the way he’d reacted the other day. He’d apologized again the next morning and she had forgiven him, but he still felt bad. 

‘Of course. Max might scare the utter shit out of me sometimes…okay all the time,’ he said with a laugh when El’s lip twitched in obvious amusement and skepticism, ‘She’s one of our best friend’s and has stuck by both of us through all sorts of things most people would run from. Demo-dogs, and the Bad Men, climbing down into those tunnels where we could definitely have died a couple of times and all the other shit we got up to as kids. And I’ll know she’ll kick the asses of any boys or girls who even try to break our girls’ heart. She’s perfect for the job.’ 

El smiled at him, glancing over at their friend’s, pressing a kiss to his arm through his jacket. 

‘I almost feel bad for the first person who breaks her heart. They’d have to face all of us, and then there’s the actual Chief of Police as a grandfather and Joyce who is a force of her own when her kids are threatened.’ 

‘Who knows? Tessa could be lucky like us,’ Mike said, grinning when El snorted, looking up at him, face scrunching up adorably. 

‘Yes, I’m sure our daughter will meet a telekinetic boy in the woods when she’s out when she’s not supposed to be looking for her friend who was taken by an interdimensional creature and fall in love with him. Happens all the time.’ 

‘See, that’s the spirit,’ he said, grin widening, leaning down to kiss the tip of her nose when she groaned, nose wrinkling at the touch, shoving him. 

‘You’re a dork, Mike Wheeler.’ 

‘Your dork,’ he said, not caring how gooey and cheesy he sounded in that moment, or about the teasing he was bound to endure later that night, knowing the others could overhear them. He was happy, actually happy for the first time in two years, the feeling so intense and strong he swore he could actually feel it bubbling inside him, and he wasn’t going to hide it. He wanted to scream it from the rooftops, to run to complete strangers and tell them the good news and he wasn’t ashamed of it. 

‘When did that happen?’ Lucas asked, gaping as he watched Mike lean down to kiss El practically in front of their noses, not even feeling the usual disgust he felt when they sucked face like that

Will’s face almost split with the grin that shot across his face at the sight in front of him, punching the air as he turned to Max, almost jumping up and down. 

‘Oh my god, it worked? It actually bloody worked.’ 

‘What worked?’ Dustin asked faintly, eyes wide and slightly glazed with shock, placing his hands over Tessa’s eyes, having taken her from Will for a hold, muttering quietly, ‘It’s okay, Tess, I’ll protect you from the trauma’. 

‘Please follow, Dustin, jeez. Yes, it worked. They’re back together,’ Max said, cheeks flushed with her excitement, whistling at the two of them, earning a finger from Mike who didn’t even look up from kissing El who let out a quiet giggle, ducking slightly, her cheeks bright pink. 

‘Clearly,’ Lucas said, voice full of amusement, before his face fell slightly, pouting. ‘Aw, I’m kind of disappointed it worked so fast. We still had heaps of ideas left.’ 

Will scoffed at them, turning his eyes from their newly reunited friend’s, gagging slightly as the cuteness reached an almost sickening level. He was happy for them but that was still his sister for god’s sake. 

‘I love how you think we had anything to do with them getting back together. Look at them. They didn’t need our help. It would have happened anyways.’

‘And it’s not like any of our ideas actually worked’, Dustin said, juggling Tessa onto one hip so he could hold up his hands, dropping fingers as he counted, ‘They dodged the mistletoe so that failed spectacularly. The snow men competition was such a disaster that Mike ended up locking himself in our room for the rest of the night. The decorating was the only thing that was even remotely successful.’ 

‘You may have a point,’ Max said thoughtfully, glancing over at them again, her face softening, ‘At least it all worked out anyways. Maybe we should have just left them to figure it out themselves. I mean they did pretty well the first time around.’ 

‘They can never find out,’ Lucas said quickly, shooting the two of them a nervous look as they pulled apart and began to walk over to them, eyes widening with alarm, ‘If they find out we were trying to meddle with their love life they will definitely kill us.’ 

‘Well, El would and it would not be done with mercy,’ Will said, face paling slightly at the thought. 

They exchanged a look, shuddering at the same time and spitting into their hands, shaking each other’s quickly. 

‘We take it to our grave,’ Dustin said fervently, expression grim, and they all nodded in agreement, pulling back frantically as El and Mike reached their sides. 

El looked at them suspiciously, shooting Mike a ‘what the hell?’ look that had him shrugging, just as perplexed as her, as they smiled at them, faces stiff with what oddly enough looked like fear. 

‘Are you guys okay?’ 

‘Yup, super, just really excited to get started on this shopping,’ Max said quickly, wincing when Mike and El’s heads swung towards her, faces filled with complete disbelief, while the others shot her panicked, exasperated looks. 

‘Okay, now I know you’re lying but since we only have a few hours left before the markets close we’re going to just pretend we believe you,’ Mike said slowly, mystified as he watched their shoulders slump with relief, shaking his head at El who laughed, resigned to the fact that maybe he just wasn’t ever going to understand his friend’s completely. They were so bloody weird, he thought, but let it go, knowing he’d never get it out of them and not sure he wanted to know. 

‘Good call’, Will said weakly, clapping Mike on the shoulder, flinching slightly when El shifted, making her pull a face at him. What was going on with them all? It was like they were afraid she was going to explode or something.

‘O-kay. Everyone got their lists?’ she asked, nodding when they all went through their pockets, pulling out slips of paper with everyone’s ideas for gifts and Secret Santa pick and holding them up. ‘Cool. Let’s split up, meet back here by the hot chocolate fountain in an hour?’ 

When everyone agreed they split up, Mike with Dustin and Tessa, who had refused to leave Mike’s side the last few days to Mike’s complete shock and happiness, screaming bloody murder whenever someone tried to remove him from her sight, Max with Will and Lucas with El, eager to get their shopping done and out of the bustling markets, the crowds showing no sign of easing any time soon. 

‘Any idea what you’re looking for?’ Lucas asked El after the fifth store they’d been to, his arms full of various bags crammed with things he’d already found for everyone, including some old comics for Dustin, a D & D figurine that Mike had never been able to find when they were kids, some home-made candy canes for himself and some expensive looking chalks for Will, as well as El’s gift that he had hidden in the bottom of his bag.

El ran her hand through her hair for what felt like the tenth time in the last ten minutes, feeling herself growing more frazzled and frustrated by the minute. She had found a few things for her friend’s, a legitimate army jacket for Lucas that she’d managed to pay for and sneak into her bag without him seeing, a couple of new records for Max to add to her collection, an empty photo album that El was going to use for Mike’s gift, a new hat for Dustin, his own she’d noticed having become frayed and faded since she’d last seen it, and a new sketch book for Will. But she couldn’t find anything for Tessa. Nothing seemed right. This was her first Christmas, it had to be perfect. 

‘I don’t know,’ she groaned, running a hand over her eyes, sighing and leaning heavily against one of the tables, huffing out a breath. ‘I want to get Tessa something special, you know? Something that she can keep but that actually means something to both of us. I got her the baby doll from that lady and the cute little jumper but those are things she’s going to grow out of. I want something that will last.’ 

Lucas tilted his head slightly to the side, his eyes searching hers in a way that made El feel a tiny bit uncomfortable, as if he was reading her mind, a feeling she got all too often around Lucas. He always had a way of knowing people, even if it took him a little while to trust someone, as he had with her in the beginning.

He nodded, as if coming to a decision and shifted to reach inside of the many bags hanging off his arm and pulled out a small square package wrapped in bright red tissue paper. 

‘Here’, he said, holding it out to her, his cheeks growing darker, scratching his head as she took it, looking suddenly shy, the expression making El blink down at the package in her hand, ‘I was going to give this to you for Christmas but I think you should have it for Tessa. It’ll mean more and I can always find something different for you.’ 

Her curiosity piqued, El carefully unwrapped the tissue paper and felt her fingers began to shake as she found what was underneath, face crumpling as she ran her fingers over the dark green script covering the tiny book in her hand, the familiar red-haired figure on the front bringing tears to her eyes. It was the first book anyone had ever read to her, that Hopper would read as he sat by her bed at night when she’d have nightmares, telling her of the adventures of the tiny red-haired orphan girl with the endless imagination and the penchant for getting into trouble. Anne of Green Gables. It was her favorite book, the characters friends to her when she couldn’t be with her own, and she’d lost her copy, had accidentally left it behind when she’d run from Hawkins’s. How had he known? 

‘Oh Lucas,’ she said, her chin wobbling, not even caring as tears began to spill down her cheeks, wiping at them. 

Lucas looked horrified, holding up his hands. 

‘Oh, shit, don’t cry. Mike will kill me if he sees you crying.’ 

El let out a wet laugh, stepping forward and hugging him tight, feeling as he predictably stiffened up for a second as he always did, not really one for hugs, before he hugged her back, chin nuzzling her shoulder as he bent almost in two from his great height. 

‘Like it then?’ he asked, voice sounding so smug El laughed, pulling back and punching his shoulder gently. 

Lucas grunted, rubbing at his shoulder, grinning back at her, when she pulled back sniffling, wiping her running nose on her sleeve unselfconsciously, ignoring the scandalized look the stall owner sent her. 

‘I love it. This is the best gift you could give me. I don’t need anything else’. 

‘I hoped you would. I remember you saying Hopper used to read it to you during that year and thought you could read it to Tessa as well. Make it a tradition’, he said, shrugging it off like it wasn’t a big deal, but inwardly he was glad she loved it, that he could help her out with this. 

He’d never admit it, but he had missed her, more than he’d known during the last two years. Him and El had always been close, though not as obviously as the others. They didn’t need many words, the two of them, comfortable in the silences and just being there for each other. They had gone to each other when they’d had fights with Max and Mike, hanging out and playing his Atari, eating junk food, only talking if they wanted to. He’d kick Mike’s ass no hesitation if he hurt her again. He refused to lose his friend again. 

‘Be Tessa’s godfather?’ 

Lucas’s head snapped up, El’s words startling him from his thoughts, and he stared at her, lost for words. 

‘Oh crap,’ El said, her own eyes going huge, biting her lip as she let out a heavy sigh, kicking the ground beneath her, ‘I was supposed to wait for Mike so we could ask together. I hope he’s not too mad.’ 

‘Wait, what? You were serious?’ Lucas gasped, shaking himself from his shock, feeling like he wasn’t hearing her properly, heart beating in his ears oddly. 

‘Why wouldn’t I be serious?’ El asked, looking up at him curiously.

‘I mean…there’s….’ he stuttered, unable to get any coherent words, so he just gave up, shrugging at El helplessly. 

‘You’re one of Mike’s oldest friend’s and mine as well, Lucas. You have always fought so hard for your friend’s. I know you’d protect Tessa with everything you had, that you’d never let anything, or anyone hurt her. We both want all of you to be in her life, to help us raise her. I want her to get to know you and to have a bit of all of us. Max’s fierceness and bravery, Dustin’s zeal for life and knowledge and fun, Will’s sweetness and resilience, and your loyalty and how you never give up. This was the hardest decision, and I know we’re going to have to swear our next baby- if we have one, we are nowhere close to having another baby- will have Dustin and Will as it’s godparents, they’re probably going to be really annoyed, but Mike and I talked and we want you. If you want to that is?’ she said, suddenly nervous, chewing the inside of her cheek.   
What if he didn’t want to? She’d just dropped this on him, and it was a massive decision. She wouldn’t hold it against him if he said no…

‘I will..’ Lucas croaked out, touched, coughing as he tried to hide the emotions tightening his throat. ‘I’d be honored. I’ll protect her with my life, I swear it.’

‘I know you will,’ El said, taking his hand and squeezing it, both of them smiling at each other softly, pretending she didn’t see the tears swimming in his eyes, his smile trembling slightly with emotion. ‘

‘Hey guys, what did we miss?’ Mike’s voice came suddenly from their left and they turned to see him wandering up with Tessa once again strapped to his chest, Dustin trailing behind him, piled with just as many bags as them. 

He studied them both curiously, taking in their held hands and the way El shifted guiltily, staring resolutely at the floor, realizing what must have happened. He chuckled as Lucas practically bounded up to Tessa, kissing her head and mumbling words Mike couldn’t quite catch, obviously having said yes to the godfather question that El had clearly asked him. 

‘Really El?’ he said, tutting his tongue jokingly at her, amused. ‘I’m very disappointed in you.’ 

El pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. 

‘It’s not my fault. He gave me this for Tessa’s Christmas present and it just came out. I couldn’t help it’, she said, holding out the book in her hand and he took it, his face softening as he ran his thumb over the smooth cover, understanding filling him. 

‘Alright, I’ll forgive you. But next time I…I…uh…I mean…’ he said, eyes widening as he realized what he was saying, face growing hot, absolutely mortified. What was he doing, talking about a next time? They’d only been back together officially for two days and he was already bringing up future children? Talk about being overeager. Stupid, Mike, stupid, he thought, mentally slapping his hand against his forehead. 

El bit back a laugh, knowing Mike wouldn’t appreciate her amusement at this very moment, his bright red cheeks a sight she found adorable, another thing he wouldn’t appreciate. She loved that he was already thinking of the future, that this was just as permanent and forever for him as it was for her. This was it for them. Why shouldn’t they plan for the future? She’d only just mentioned future kids to Lucas a few minutes ago and the idea of a little brother or sister for Tessa, one in which Mike could be there to experience everything this time, sounded more than nice. It sounded perfect. 

El quickly changed the subject, sparing Mike any further embarrassment and gestured at the stuffed toy she suddenly clutched in Tessa’s chubby arm, walking over to kiss her cheek, running her hand over the softness of it, laughing when Tessa only clutched it tighter, holding it to her chest possessively, sucking on its long neck. 

‘What have you got there, baby girl?’ 

Mike simply adjusted the sling slightly as he reached around to hold the toy upright, expression proud as he watched El take in the blue and green spotted dinosaur in his hands, her eyes widening. 

‘Oh my god, it’s Roar-y 2.0.’, she said, a smile spreading across her cheeks as she lifted her head to look at him, his smile, his gorgeous crooked smile making her insides quirk, the nostalgia almost overwhelming her. First the book from Lucas and now this. It’s like the universe was trying to tell them something, a hint of what was to come in their future and the past and memories they’d never completely leave behind, the heartbreak and the fear but mostly the fun and the joy and the running wild together, and so much love for each other. She wanted to give Tessa- and any future children- all of that, all of what they had and the things they hadn’t, all the attention Mike had never been given from his parents, and all the love and affection and freedom she had gone so long without and then had in abundance. 

Mike grinned at her, so proud he could almost feel his chest puffing up from it. Of course El would get it, that she would understand immediately what the stuffed animal that he had spotted at one of the stalls meant. The memory of that first day they’d spent together was one of his favorites, sneaking around his house together on his illicit day of skipping school just to be with her, fascinated by her as he stilled remained today. He’d been so nervous the whole time, feeling like his usual awkward self, never having spent much time around a girl who wasn’t Nancy or Holly, who at that point was just a baby and really didn’t count- not in his eyes at least. He’d been so surprised and a bit put-out when she hadn’t been impressed by their new television, walking to the photos of all things and the armchair. Her little laugh and the sweet smile, the first he’d ever seen, had awoken something inside him, the beginning of first, and only, crush that had only grown stronger that week and every day that had followed since then. He liked having the little reminders of their significant moments, and the idea of Tessa having a small part of that through the stuffed toy, though he would definitely be giving her the tiny dinosaur figurine that roared that he’d kept all these years, refusing to let go of it for “sentimental reasons” as he’d always claimed, made him more happy than he thought was possible for such a little thing. He couldn’t wait to tell Tessa about it all one day, about her superhero of a Mama, the way they’d counted the days waited for each other, how’d he called her every night for 353 days and how’d they fought evil over and over again and won, never faltering, always by each other’s side with their Party. 

Suddenly emotional, El hugged him from the side to keep from squishing Tessa, her fingers twisting into his shirt, leaning against his shoulder, running her fingers over the newly christened Roar-y 2.0’s soft fur, kissing Tessa’s soft downy curls. 

‘Aren’t you lucky’, she told her, letting out a slightly wet chuckle when Tessa let out a loud cry, throwing her hands into the air, lifting her head to Mike’s, seeing the promise of all the things she wanted for their daughter written in his eyes and brushed her lips against his. 

‘Ugh, do you guys ever stop? Innocent eyes over here,’ Max said as she wandered back to the group towing Will behind her who had thrown his bags into a small trolley that everyone took advantage of immediately, dropping their bags in as well with relieved sighs, rolling aching shoulders. 

‘I wouldn’t exactly call your eyes innocent, Max. I know what you got up to with our dear Lucas, remember?’ El said, grinning when Max and Lucas sent her an affronted look, putting a hand on her chest. 

‘Remind me to never tell you anything again, El Hopper. And I was talking about Will of course.’ 

‘Oi! Why does everyone think I’m so innocent all the time? I have a boyfriend, you know,’ Will said, glaring at all of them in turn as they burst into laughter. 

‘Sorry, Will,’ Dustin said, throwing his arm around his shoulders, ignoring his obvious attempts to buck him off, scowling up at him, ‘You know we love you.’ 

‘Don’t know why I put up with you assholes’, Will muttered under his breath, pulling away to stomp over to stand next to Mike who shook his head at his friend’s, patting Will on the shoulder in sympathy. 

‘Everyone got everything they need’, Lucas asked as a way to change the subject, seeing from the mutinous expression on Will’s face that any more teasing would not go down well. When everyone nodded they made their way towards the exit, the crowds finally beginning to thin as the sun began to set in the distance, the air growing chillier, making them huddle into their coats, rubbing their cold fingers. 

As the neared the exit, the jingle of bells made Will look up, his irritable mood immediately forgotten as he saw where the sound was coming from, an idea forming in his mind. Well…just because they were already together, didn’t mean they couldn’t keep meddling a little bit, he thought deviously as he grabbed Mike’s arm who let out a surprised grunt, turning to look over at him, eyebrows raised. 

‘What’s up?’ 

Will just pointed in the direction he was looking, watching, satisfied, as Mike’s forehead crinkled for a second in confusion before it cleared and he grinned at Will, his dark eyes brightening. 

‘You are a genius, Will.’ 

‘I know,’ Will said with a shrug, earning him a gentle shove before Mike turned around eagerly to the others had continued walking, calling out. 

‘El, guys, hold up,’ he said, running forward, his hand bracing Tessa’s back so as not to jostle her too much, breathless as he reached the others and El who was watching him wide-eyed. 

‘What’s going on?’ she asked, eyebrows drawing together in surprise. 

‘They are doing sleigh rides over there,’ he said, pointing to the side of the entrance where, just out of sight, sat a large wooden sleigh, it’s polished wood gleaming in the quickly dying light, four gorgeous black horses attached to the front with a red harness, tiny gold bells hanging from them. A man with a long white beard reminiscent of good old Saint Nick stood at the front of them, feeding them from a bucket. ‘Did you…maybe want to go for a ride before we go home?’ 

‘Oh,’ El said, her face lighting up until she was practically glowing, mouth falling in a small ‘o’, excitement filling her. The excitement dimmed slightly as she glanced down at Tessa at Mike’s chest, her eyes drooping with tiredness, rubbing at them with her tiny fists, obviously getting sleepy and tired. It was almost time for her dinner and for bed, she couldn’t leave her now, she thought, guilt rising inside her at the very idea. What kind of a mother would she be if she left her to run off and do something like this?

She gave Mike a sad look, shaking her head slightly, her chest panging as she watched his face fall slightly, obviously disappointed. 

‘I’d love to Mike, but we have to get Tessa home for bed. I can’t.’ 

‘Oh, bull, of course you can’, Max said, stepping forward, tone authoritative and her expression stern as she undid the carrier and pulled it away from Mike, holding Tessa to her chest, pointing a finger at the two of them. ‘You two are going to go and have fun. We insist on it.’ 

‘But…’ El protested, her stomach roiling anxiously as she glanced over at Tessa, jumping slightly when she felt Mike’s slip between her own, looking over at him to see the understanding in his face which somehow only made her feel worse. She didn’t want to let Mike down and she desperately wanted to go, to have this alone time with him, but she couldn’t stop herself from feeling like a bad mother if she left Tessa. 

‘El, you haven’t been away from Tessa since the day she was born. It’ll only be an hour tops and you’ll be straight home. There’s no need to feel guilty but if you really don’t want to we don’t have to,’ Mike told her, rubbing his thumb along her palm to calm her, trying to show her that he didn’t mind either way, offering his support. 

He had found himself over the last week panicking whenever he couldn’t see Tessa, starting, growing frantic, only relaxing when he had found her, when his eyes actually landed on her and he knew for certain she was there, that she was real. If he felt like that after only a few days, he could only imagine what El felt. 

‘Yeah, you deserve some time off, El. We’ll take Tessa home and give her a bath and feed her and you’ll be home in time for bedtime. We can do this,’ Will said, his big brown eyes wide and encouraging as he gave her a smile. 

‘Or don’t you trust us?’ Dustin said, raising an eyebrow, expression smug, not above using emotional blackmail when it suited him. 

El rolled her eyes at him, shaking her head. 

‘Of course I trust you guys…’ 

‘Then go off and have some fun. We’ll be fine,’ Max said, waving them off cheerfully, glancing down at Tessa, ‘Say bye bye, baby girl. Bye bye,’ 

They all melted as Tessa waved her hands at them excitedly and El felt the last of her hesitation melt away, letting out a sigh, turning to Mike, a small smile on her face. 

‘Okay, I’d like that.’ 

Mike beamed, barely holding back the urge to pull her into his arms and swing her around, his fingers tightening on hers, looking over at their friend’s and narrowing his eyes at them in a mock-threatening way. 

‘You better take good care of our girl.’ The ‘or-else’ went unsaid but they all clearly heard it, groaning and rolling their eyes collectively. 

‘Don’t worry, Tessa’s godfather will look after her,’ Lucas said smugly, smirking as Dustin and Will turned around to gape at him even as El yelled out a chastising ‘Lucas!’ 

‘Wait what?’ Dustin yelled, outraged. 

‘That’s not fair!’ Will said, turning to El, a look of betrayal on his face, before he pursed his lips thoughtfully, ‘Actually, technically I’m her Uncle by marriage so that’s better than Godfather anyways. So I’m good.’ 

‘You too?’ Max said, expression delighted as Lucas and her high-fived, cackling as Dustin continued to sputter behind them. 

‘And that’s our cue to leave’, Mike laughed, pulling El behind him as they began to run towards the sleigh where the man looked to be beginning to close up, the sounds of their friend’s arguing and laughing echoing behind them.

‘Jerks! I won’t forget this,’ Dustin called after them, tone petulant. 

‘Sorry Dustin,’ El called back, throwing an apologetic look over her shoulder, ‘Next time, I swear.’

They reached the sleigh, both puffing and out of breath, laughter still bubbling in their throats and chests. The man gave them an unreadable look, huffing almost grumpily, clearly not in the mood to be giving out anymore rides and they both felt their hope and excitement fade a little, El biting her lip anxiously. Mike pulled a face, giving El a small reassuring smile as he pressed a kiss to her hand. 

‘Give me a second.’ 

El watched Mike wander over to the man, his shoulders back and walk confident, speaking quietly to him, gesturing over to her, his hands moving animatedly, expression earnest and determined, pushing his hair out of his face impatiently. El smiled, shaking her head, knowing how stubborn her man was, almost feeling sorry for the man who was nodding along seriously to whatever he was saying, giving her a small wave that she returned. 

She walked over to the horses, smiling as one of them snorted at her, stepping forward, bumping its nose against of her hand, snuffling as it searched for food, tickling her neck. She giggled, patting it’s nose gently, surprised by how soft it was. 

‘What the hell, it’s Christmas, isn’t it?’ the man suddenly said making El jump, turning to see Mike looking a little sheepish for some unknown reason, rubbing the back of his neck almost nervously, walking over to her with the man beside him, pulling his bright blue beanie off his head as he approached, giving her a one-sided and endearing smile. 

‘Hello, miss. Heard you were hoping for a ride?’ 

El nodded almost shyly, ducking her head, hearing the man chuckle. 

‘Well, tis the spirit and such right? Hop on in, I’ll give you a lift home. Where am I headed?’ 

‘Edgar Road, just on the outskirts,’ El told him, warmth growing in her chest as Mike lifted her up onto the sleigh, his hands lingering on her waist, feeling her cheeks growing warm, not even trying to hide her wide smile. 

Mike grinned back at her, jumping up to sit beside her as the man climbed into the driver’s seat, snapping the reins once or twice. He pulled the blankets sitting on the floor of the sleigh up onto the laps, tucking it around her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, sighing happily as he felt her snuggle up against him, heart clenching slightly in adoration. 

‘Okay, hold on folks!’ the men said, letting out a little cry and suddenly they were off, bells twinkling loudly as they were thrown back suddenly. They were both let out loud cries of surprise, laughing at themselves, holding on for dear life as they speed off down the now empty lane, all cars now gone, and it felt like they were the only ones alive in that moment, with only them and the dark, star-filled sky above them. 

The air was cool and crisp as it sped past them, temperature continuing to drop rapidly, brisk and bracing against their skin as they cuddled closer together, legs tangling together, watching as their breath rose like clouds above them, pressed together contentedly. 

‘I’m curious, how did you get him to agree?’ El whispered quietly in the silence, looking up at him from where her head rested against his neck, frowning as she watched a flush rise up his neck from beneath his scarf and up into his cheeks. 

‘Oh, that. I just mentioned how I was planning to propose to my girl and needed the most magical scenario possible. So if it happens don’t act too surprised.’ 

El choked on her own saliva at his words, yanking back to stare at him, gaping up at him. Mike only looked back at her calmly, his eyebrow quirked at her as if to say ‘what?’, before his lip twitched, a teasing light growing in his light giving him away for a second before he burst out laughing. 

‘You should have seen your face!’ 

‘Mike, you ass!’, she said, laughing herself, using her powers to give him a subtle pinch that had him yelping through his laughter, reaching down to rub at his leg. ‘I almost believed you for a second.’ 

Their laughter slowly faded, and Mike felt his heart jump slightly as a thought occurred to him, nerves growing to life inside of him as he began to play with her gloved fingers to keep from meeting her eyes, chewing his bottom lip. 

‘Would it be such a bad thing if I had been serious?’ he asked slowly, reluctantly looking up, unable to help the sudden feeling of insecurity that arose, his eyes meeting hers. 

El’s breath hitched at his words, sitting up slowly until she was practically in his lap, balancing on her knees as she cupped his face in her hands, fingers brushing over his sharp cheekbones. She looked at him for the longest moment before leaning up to press her lips to his, the kiss quick but no less soft and full of love. 

‘Not a bad thing at all,’ she whispered against his skin as she pulled back, her heart feeling like it would burst from the love she felt for him, her eyes full of adoration. 

Mike squeezed his eyes shut, his breath escaping on a shudder as he pressed his forehead to hers, arms squeezing tight around her, not even bothering to hide how much he was shaking, was affected by her words. They curled together, just enjoying the quiet of the night, the muffled sound of the horse’s hoofs against the snow and the slide of the sleigh, just enjoying the quiet and the feeling of being in each other’s arm, looking up at the dark blanket of the sky, stars twinkling brightly. Both their minds were quiet and happy, their hearts full, even as Mike silently began to plan, a secret smile carving his lips, his lips brushing the top of her head.   
Not a bad thing at all, he thought, grinning silently.


	7. Have a holly jolly christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shorter one this time guys but honestly one of the sweetest chapters of this whole story. I just adore the interactions and little moments and the bonding so please enjoy and I hope you love it as much as I do. Let me know what you think. xx .

‘Don’t you dare look, Lucas Sinclair, I know you’re peeking,’ Max said warningly, her words slurring only slightly as she leant against Dustin’s back, kicking at Lucas across from her. 

‘I wasn’t!’ Lucas protested vehemently; his tongue pressed to his teeth in concentration as he painstakingly cut out the right amount of wrapping paper, not even looking up at Max, trying his hardest not to cut a finger off. 

‘Yeah you did I saw you,’ Will said, sticking his tongue out at Lucas, looking ridiculous with his nose squished up by the tape that Mike had put there earlier, El giggling as she looked at him and then back at the television where the Grinch was playing quietly in the background, the resemblance between him and the Who’s hilariously accurate. 

‘Tattle-tale!’ 

El leaned heavily against Mike’s back, feeling him shaking behind her with silent laughter, the most sober of them all somehow. When did Mike become the one who could hold his liquor better than them? He used to get drunk on two sips of beer. 

‘Whose idea was this again?’ he asked, sounding amused as he turned to look at the others in the Party, lips twisting up into a smirk at the states of his friend’s. 

‘Max’s of course’, Dustin said, looking almost cross-eyed down at the wrapping paper he’d claimed as his own, a ridiculous Fluro green that was almost blinding covered in penguins of all things wearing elf costumes. ‘Who else?’ 

‘Hey, don’t you act like you’re not having fun. Admit it, drunken wrapping is the best’, Max protested, shaking her red hair back with a huff at them doubting her genius. 

‘Yes, getting drunk every time you lose scissors or tape…hell, just playing with scissors while drunk is a great idea’, Mike said, only slightly sarcastic, rolling his eyes at her. 

‘Hey, I saw that! You know the rules, Hopper, drink up!’ Dustin called out, pointing a finger at El where she was trying to hide the fact that she was looking for the scissors for what had to be the tenth time- she honestly couldn’t remember, her memory had grown fuzzy six drinks ago- smirking widely as she groaned. 

El narrowed at her eyes at him, though she didn’t know how effective the threat was, her face felt kind of numb and she wasn’t sure the muscles were working properly anymore, sensing that this was payback for the whole godfather thing somehow. She reluctantly sloppily poured herself another cup of eggnog, stomach clenching in protest at the sickeningly sweet smell wafting up from the carton. She plugged her nose, grimacing at the taste, chugging it down as fast as she could as the others cheered her on, sticking out her tongue as she mercifully finished it. 

‘Ugh, that is putrid. How do people like it?’ 

Will shrugged jerkily, almost sliding down the end of the couch where he was hiding his own presents, taking a long drawl from the carton. 

‘I like it…’ he said with a loud hiccup that made them all laugh.

A loud cry from the monitor on the coffee table made them all turn as one, Tessa clearly awake and wanting her midnight feed. El pushed herself up, wobbling slightly as she grabbed onto the couch, stumbling, surprised by how light her head felt. God, maybe I’m drunker than I realized, she thought dazedly. 

‘Hey, hey, I’ve got her. You stay down here, protect our presents from these snoops,’ Mike said, putting his hand on her shoulders and gently pushing her back down to the ground, chuckling under his breath at the way she smiled up at him goofily, reaching up and missing his face completely, staring at her hand as if it was a foreign object. 

Could she get any more adorable? He hadn’t seen her actually drunk in years, she didn’t really like the taste of alcohol or how out of control it made her feel, and had forgotten how tactile she was, always touching his cheeks or ruffling his hair. She would regret it in the morning though. At least he’d stayed sober, not only for Tessa, but he knew someone would have to babysit these idiots. 

‘I love you,’ she said, pushing her lips out for a kiss, making Mike laugh even harder but he obliged, leaning down to press his lips chastely to hers, grinning as their friend’s protested loudly around them, gagging in the background. 

‘Ew!’

‘Ugh, get a room you two.’ 

‘That is seriously na-na-nauseating.’

El giggled, collapsing back against Will, the closest person to her who fell backwards with a loud ‘shit!’. Mike grinned, shaking his head as he bounded up the stairs and out of sight towards his crying daughter. 

‘I really really love him, you know?’ El said, sighing happily, kicking her legs in the air, her head resting against Will’s who snorted, his eyes half-closed, humming along loudly as the narrator began to sing about the mean Mr. Grinch. 

‘Duh, El. Anyone with eyes could see that. You two have been in love since before I even met you.’ 

‘Yeah, it’s kind of gross’, Lucas called in a sing-song voice across from them, earning a half-hearted scowl from El who could barely lift her head. 

‘You’re a vile one, Mr. Grinch…you have termites in your smile…’ Dustin began to sang loudly out of nowhere, his eyes mere slits now as he held the scissors up as a microphone, voice surprisingly melodious and in key for how drunk he actually was. 

Max turned slowly to him, throwing the tape at him and missing by half a foot. 

‘Sing one more note of that carol and I will have to end you. You know how much I hate Christmas songs.’ 

‘Stop being a bloody Grinch Max, you’re not as tough as you make out’, Lucas said, not even blinking at her as she turned her gaze onto him, completely unaffected as she glared daggers at him. 

‘You keep telling yourself that, Lucas’, she sniffed dismissively, crossing her arms over her chest. 

‘Come on, Max, it’s Christmas’, Dustin wheedled, pouting across at her, fluttering his eyelashes adorably. 

‘Not yet it’s not!’ 

El and Will exchanged a look with Dustin and Lucas, grinning devilishly as they all climbed to their knees, moving towards Max, singing at the top of their lungs, getting louder the closer they got to her. 

‘You’re a foul one, Mr. Grinch, you’re a nasty wasty skunk, your heart is full of unwashed socks….’ 

Max covered her ears with her hands, humming loudly, trying to drown out the sound. 

‘La la la, I’m not listening…’ 

They all fell into a pile laughing uncontrollably, tears pouring out of their eyes, hiccupping and crawling over one another, Dustin yelping as he got pricked by the scissors scattered around them. 

‘I hate you all’, Max said, crossing her arms petulantly over her shoulder, looking so much like a child that they only laughed harder, wiping at their cheeks, their stomachs beginning to ache, cheeks hurting from smiling so hard. 

‘Stop, stop, I can’t take it…’ Will gasped, wiping at his flushed cheeks, rolling onto his back, gasping at the ceiling. 

El crawled over Dustin and Lucas, dodging Max’s half-hearted kick, grinning at the way Lucas and her snuggled together thinking that no-one would notice and laid her head on Will’s stomach, sighing when he began to pat at her hair in a way that was almost like he’d pat a dog’s but she didn’t take offence, enjoying it anyway. 

‘Oh by the way,’ Dustin said as he caught his breath, lifting his head to look up at them, brushing his curls out of his eyes, smiling sloppily, ‘the roads are supposed to be cleared by Christmas morning. We’ll be able to get back for lunch at least after spending the morning here.’ 

El went suddenly stiff at his words, feeling like something leaden had just dropped into her stomach, the sensation almost sickening in its intensity. She had almost forgotten there was a world outside the little bubble they’d created over the last few days, where the people she loved and the problems she’d been avoiding for way too long still existed. But it had once again hit her, like she’d been doused with cold water, and some part of her that she desperately wanted to ignore, knew she couldn’t avoid it any longer. 

She barely felt Will inching closer to her, only looking up when she felt him nudge her with his elbow, lifting her slightly dazed eyes to his concerned ones, running his thumb along the back of her hand. 

‘Are you okay?’ 

El jerked a shoulder in a semblance of a shrug, rolling onto her side to face him fully, needing this moment with her brother, and only her brother for a second. She looked at him, hating the worry she could see written all over his face, turning her hand over to hold his, swinging it gently between them. Any place with Will had always been a safe place and she needed that now more than ever. 

‘Are you going home for Christmas?’ 

Will nodded slowly, trying his best not to move to fast, not wanting to do anything that would upset El. He could tell how much guilt she felt for not returning to Hawkins’s, for keeping these secrets from Hopper and Joyce and everyone else at home, Nancy and Jonathan and Steve. He didn’t want her to feel like they expected anything from her, that there was any pressure at all. Which one of them hadn’t felt the need to run away from the town they had grown up in, where everything just always seemed to go to the hell? He sure as hell had and had actually done it for a few months the very day they’d graduated. If anyone could understand how torn it left you feeling, your love for your family but the bitterness he felt for the town where he’d been kidnapped and thrown into another dimension and then possessed by a monster. He couldn’t judge her, and he never would. He would never force her to do something she didn’t want to. 

El took a deep breath, steeling her nerves. 

‘Room for three more?’ 

Will’s eyes widened, jerking upwards onto one elbow towards her in disbelief. 

‘Really? Are you sure, El? You don’t have to if you’re not ready.’ 

El gave him a wobbly smile, even as she began to tug on the ends of her hair, a sure sign of how anxious she was really. 

‘Truthfully? Not really, but I think it’s time. Tessa deserves to know the big family she has, and I’ve missed everyone so much. Joyce and Hopper, Nancy and Jonathan and Steve and even Mrs. Wheeler. I’ll probably never be completely ready so I can’t just wait around for it to happen. And Mike hasn’t said anything, but I know he’s dying to introduce Tessa to his Mum and Nancy and Holly, and he should have that. They are his family and Tessa’s as well.’ 

‘We’ll be with you the whole time, El. I promise you that. They are going to love Tessa and I know you think they are going to be angry at you or hate you and you’re wrong. They could never hate you. We all need time to ourselves sometimes, to figure things out.’ 

‘But two years?’ she asked, the guilt threatening to choke her. 

Will shook his head, hugging her to him, clutching her tight as El snuggled into his shoulder with a quiet sigh. He opened to look at his friend’s, a little relieved to see that Max and Lucas has passed out together, snoring softly, their arms and legs tangled together like baby octopuses while Dustin was sitting almost inches from the television watching the end of the film, his eyes glued to the screen, though he glanced over and gave Will a small smile, his brown eyes crinkling with understanding, obviously giving them their privacy. Will gave him an appreciate look that Dustin waved off, turning back to the screen, slumping back against the coffee with a quiet clunk. 

‘Hey, I went on the lamb for almost five months after senior year and everything that went down. You all forgave me. You needed to find a new normal, a way to heal. There’s nothing to feel guilt or ashamed about, El. No matter how long it took or how it came about we’re all together again. That’s all that matters.’ 

El’s lower lip trembled and she cuddled close to him, hugging him tight as they both swayed together drunkenly, pressing a sloppy kiss on his cheek. 

‘I love you, big brother. Don’t ever forget that.’ 

‘I love you too’. 

‘And I love you both as well’, Dustin said, making them both laugh as he crawled over to them, sprawling over their legs with a sigh, laying his hands on his chest. ‘I think I’m a bit drunk.’ 

‘You think?’ Will teased, raising an eyebrow at him and Dustin nodded seriously, curling up into a ball at their feet with a yawn. 

‘Mmm…hmmm.’

‘Okay, time for bed,’ El said, stretching as she rose to her feet, stumbling slightly, reaching down to pull up Will, glancing around, her forehead furrowing. ‘Wait, where’s Mike?’ 

‘He hasn’t come back down yet,’ Dustin said from where he had settled on the floor, clearly planning to spend the night there, pulling a throw off the back of the couch onto him. 

‘I’ll go and see if he’s alright. Night guys. Love you.’ 

‘Night El’, they both chorused back, Will making his way to the couch to settle in as well, not bothering to climb the stairs, not sure that he’d actually make it, flopping down on it. 

El turned the light off, leaving the television on to give them some sort of light for when they woke up, probably disorientated and made her way slowly up the stairs, stumbling slightly, before giving up and climbing up on all fours, laughing quietly at how ridiculous she must look. 

Finally reaching the top of the stairs she rose to her feet, bracing herself on the wall for a few seconds, her head spinning slightly, before she pushed off and walked to her room where she could see a pale light shining from under the door. She opened it quietly, peeking inside and felt everything inside her melt at the sight in front of her, leaning against the doorframe, feeling slightly weepy. 

Mike lay quietly on her unmade bed, Tessa curled up on top of his chest fast asleep, her thumb in her mouth as he read quietly to her, a small book held in his hands, voice soft and gentle as he ran his hand up and down her back soothingly. 

‘When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter, away to the window I flew like a flash…’ 

Mike leant down to press a kiss to Tessa’s head as he felt her breath finally steady, full and content, her weight against his chest heavy and comforting in a way that was as old and ancient as any feeling he’d ever known. Her breath was warm against his neck, a little damp and hot, but he wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. He smiled softly, his heart clenching as he remembered how her little face had lit up as he’d entered the room, arms reaching for him in the same she only ever did for El, calling out excitedly for him. His heart had actually stopped when out of nowhere she had called out for him, saying the word he had never thought he would hear this soon, in her sweet high voice. 

‘Dad, Dad, Dad…’ she cried out, fists opening and closing in her excitement and he had cried, a fact he was completely unashamed of, holding her to his chest as he sobbed, smiling as she patted at his wet cheeks, demanding his attention in the way that was just naturally Tessa, demanding and precious, sweet and hot-tempered, easy and open with her smiles, but a force to be reckoned with if you got in the way of her feeding time. He loved her more than he had ever thought possible, the love so different to what he felt for El or the Party or his family, but none the less strong and powerful. And he knew if anyone tried to get between him and his little girl there was nothing he wouldn’t do to keep her safe and keep her with him. 

Mike looked up, sensing eyes on him, and smiled sleepily as he spotted El hovering in the doorway, leaning against the frame, looking soft and almost ethereal, even as she wobbled slightly, clearly still intoxicated. 

‘Hey there.’ 

‘Hey,’ she said back with a small, half-smile, walking over and climbing into the bed beside him, laying her head into the hollow of his throat just above Tessa’s, their curls intertwining, becoming one, dark and light. She pressed her lips to his chin before yawning loudly, snuggling in closer as she began to doze. 

Mike shifted, going to put the book down on the bedside table when he felt El grab his wrist gently, shaking her head. 

‘Keep reading, please? I like the sound of your voice’, she admitted quietly, not embarrassed at all, her voice drowsy and drifting, wrapping her arm over his and across Tessa, holding them together as one. As a family. 

Mike nodded, unable to speak past the lump in throat without clearing it, and began to read again quietly, feeling as El grew heavier against him, her breath evening out and kissed her forehead, awkwardly flicking the bedcovers over the three of them. 

He let his voice fade away, closing his eyes when he knew she was fully, deeply asleep, turning the lamp off and settling into the peacefulness of the sudden darkness. He let out a little breath as his other hand moved and reached for the squared sized lump in his pocket where the ring he’d bought earlier that day sat, reassuring himself it was still there, enjoying the comforting weight of it. He’d been carrying it all day, since he’d snuck out of the house with Dustin to help him pick it out, swearing him to absolute secrecy, under the guise of getting more wrapping paper. 

Not long now, he reassured himself silently, the question having seemed to be tip of his tongue all day. But it wasn’t time, not yet. It had to be the right moment. Impatient as he was feeling, he knew that it, the waiting, would be worth it. She was worth the wait and always had been. They had survived a 353 days without each other before, waiting for the other to return, to find each other even when a part of Mike had been terrified she was gone forever. They had overcome obstacle after obstacle and still here they were, together as it was always meant to be. He could wait a day more.   
And after this, hopefully, there would be no more waiting and they would have forever.


	8. All I want for Christmas is you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it's finished. :( I always get a little sad when I finish posting a story but this has to be the longest I've ever dragged out a story before! And I am so sorry for that. Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me, your comments and kudos and just general support has been incredible and I adore all of you for it. This might not end the way everyone was kind of expecting it to but I'm hoping to get a bonus chapter out during the actual Christmas season so fingers crossed x

Dustin stood in the kitchen, his hands firmly on his hips in what was supposed to be an intimidating stance, looking domestic and only slightly ridiculous in his borrowed bright purple, frilly apron, eyeing his friend’s mutinously. 

‘Out, all of you. I don’t trust any of you to help with dinner. You’ll set the damn place on fire,’ he said, shooing them out absent-mindedly as he began to baste the turkey ready for their Christmas Eve dinner, all of them having decided as one to have an early Christmas just for the seven of them. They’d been getting ready all day, hanging the stockings they’d painstakingly made that day in front of the fire, some still sticky with glue and covered with so much glitter they could barely make out their names. The presents were all tucked safely under the tree already, just waiting for Christmas morning the next day, and they’d all been herding Tessa away from the brightly wrapped temptations all day, a never-ending job, but one they were happy to do. 

Max rolled her eyes from where she was sprawled across the dining room floor on her stomach, stacking blocks with Tessa, not even bothering to be offended. She didn’t want to be stuck on cooking duty anyways, it was not a huge loss for her. But she had to defend her honor and spoke up anyways. 

‘Hey, I’m not that bad.’ 

‘You burn toast, Max’, Lucas said, lips quirking in amusement as she just shrugged at him. 

‘It’s not my fault the toaster acts up.’ 

‘Only when you use it.’ 

‘Coincidence,’ she said, waving at him as if she was batting away his words. 

‘I don’t care what your excuses are, the only people I’m letting into this damn kitchen are El and Lucas. Sorry Will but you inherited your Mom’s skills…’ 

‘Or lack thereof…’ Mike chortled under his breath, easily dodging the elbow Will threw at him at the kitchen table, almost falling backwards off his chair. 

‘…in the kitchen.’ 

‘No offence taken,’ Will said with an unbothered shrug, turning back to the letter from Santa he was making for Tessa for her to keep in the coming years, wanting her to have a memento of her first Christmas, painstakingly decorating the borders with candy canes and tiny hand-drawn reindeer.

‘What about me?’ Mike said, pouting playfully. 

‘You put syrup on eggs, Mike, you can’t be trusted. Sorry babe,’ El said, crinkling her nose with laughter as she bent down to kiss his head placatingly and he scrunched up his face, pretending to be put out. 

‘It tastes good though,’ he mumbled under his breath. 

‘I’ll take your word for it,’ she said, ruffling his hair, outright laughing as he pinched her side teasingly, tickling her until she practically jumped out of his arms, blowing him a kiss over her shoulder that made him grin. 

She joined Lucas in the kitchen, both of them exchanging smug looks, turning as one to stick their tongues out at their friends who just rolled their eyes at them good-naturedly, returning the gesture. They quickly straightened their faces into some semblance of seriousness as Dustin spun around to face them, his face stern and all business. 

Dustin wiped his hands on his apron after placing the turkey back in the oven, clapping them together to get their attention. 

‘Okay, if we want to eat sometime this millennium we have to get to work. I have the turkey in the oven so that’s all good for the next few hours, so now we all need is the vegetables peeled and cut up and ready for roasting. You picked up the pudding from the store, right Will?’ 

‘Yup,’ Will said with a little pop, looking up distractedly, batting at Mike’s hand as he tried to get a closer look at the letter that wasn’t ready yet, ‘I got the traditional one as well as a sticky toffee for variety.’ 

‘Knew I could count on you. Unlike these useless bastards’, he said, biting his lip to hide his grin as he watched Mike’s and Max’s head snap up, glowering at him. 

‘Hey!’ Max protested loudly, making the rest of them giggle, ‘We’ve got the stockings all lined up, and cut up wood for the fire, and dug the cars out of the snow from last night, as well as looking after Tessa. You can shove it, Henderson, because we did good.’ 

Mike leaned down to fist-bump Max, throwing a tea-towel at Dustin, laughing when it hit him in the face. 

‘Jerk.’ 

They all quietly got to work, Mike joining Max on the floor, helping Tessa balance as she tried determinedly, her little pixie-like nose creasing with concentration, to walk, wobbling on her chubby little legs, calling to her encouragingly even as she fell to the floor, grunting with every drop. Will worked contentedly on his project, while El and Lucas peeled and cut vegetables, handing them over to Dustin who worked his culinary magic, the only one of them who had decided to put any effort into getting any skills in the kitchen beyond what was strictly necessary, sprinkling herbs and oils on top and popping it into the oven with a flourish. 

Pushing her curls, damp from the heat of the kitchen off her face, El stepped back, deciding that they could deal with the dirty pots and pans and utensils later, almost groaning as the delicious smell of the turkey began to waft from the oven, her mouth almost watering. 

‘How long till this is ready again?’ she said, her stomach rumbling at just the thought of it. The turkey had been in the oven since early that morning and smelling it all day had left her ravenous. 

‘About another hour and it should be good to go,’ Dustin said, raising his voice slightly, making Mike look up from where he was holding onto Tessa’s arm to steady her, his smile fading slightly as Dustin gave him a pointed look behind El’s back, jerking his chin towards her, eyes widening significantly. 

Now or never, he seemed to be saying and Mike felt his heart sped up in his chest as he rose to his feet, suddenly shaky as he walked over to El where she was peering into the oven, her gaze intense, as if urging the turkey to cook faster. He chuckled at her, wrapping his arms around her waist gently, sighing happily when he felt her nuzzle her head against his, pressing a kiss to her jaw. 

‘Come for a walk with me?’ 

El spun around in his arms, her wide brown eyes darting to the window behind the sink where she could just make out the shapes of snow falling lightly outside, not enough to be bothersome, forehead furrowing in confusion, but she nodded, knowing she would do anything for Mike if he asked her. Mike smiled, taking her hand in his hand, making her frown slightly as she felt how sweaty his palms were, turning them both back to the Party. 

‘We’re just going to go outside for a few minutes. Are you guys alright to watch Tessa?’ 

They all called out an affirmative, obviously not seeing anything suspicious in the action, though it had to be in the minuses outside and no sane person would be going outside. Will, however, did glance up at them, his eyes narrowing minutely at Mike who barely managed to hold his face blank, terrified of giving it all away, not wanting to ruin the surprise. 

Dustin gave him a thumb ups behind the others back, his grin threatening to crack his face from his obvious excitement and Mike pulled a face at him as he helped El into her jacket, shrugging into his open as they stepped out of the house and into the frigid night air. 

‘Holy shit!’ Mike gasped out as the cold hit him as he stepped out and El shivered beside him, nodding, letting out a quiet gasp, shoving her fingers quickly into the pocket of her jacket. 

‘It’s bloody freezing,’ she said, her breath immediately rising in a mist in front of her, cheeks growing pink with the cold as they stepped down off the porch. She smiled as she linked her arm with Mike’s, snuggling into the warmth she could feel radiating off him even through his thick snow jacket, leaning her head back and sticking her tongue out to try and catch a snowflake. 

Mike grinned at the childish act, joining her, both of them laughing as one hit him squarely on the nose as they walked, making their way towards the frozen pond, swinging their hands between them, talking quietly. 

‘I can’t wait for tomorrow morning. My first Christmas morning was so perfect and fun, and I want everything to be just as perfect for Tessa. Do you think she’ll like her presents?’ El asked, looking up at Mike, smiling as she saw the way the snowflakes had gotten caught in his hair and eyelashes, reaching up to brush it off gently. 

Mike grinned at her, shaking his head. 

‘You know Tessa is only nine months old. She won’t even know what day it is.’ 

‘No, but we will. We’ll remember it. I know I’ve already said this, probably a hundred times by this point, but I’m so glad you’re all here, especially you Mike. You were there for my first Christmas and I couldn’t imagine another one without you’, she said, laying her head against his arm as they walked, wrapping her arm around his waist. 

Mike swallowed hard at her words, his fingers tightening on hers so hard that he was slightly worried he was hurting her as he brought them to a sudden halt, feeling his entire body begin to shake. El lifted her head off his shoulder to glance up at him, stilling as she saw how pale he suddenly looked, eyes dark and huge in his face. 

‘Mike, are you okay?’ 

‘I…uh…I have something for you,’ he stammered out, reaching his fingers into his pocket, curling his fingers around the box inside it, feeling like his heart was trying to crawl out his throat. If there was ever a perfect moment, it was this. 

‘Oh, but Mike’, El said, looking suddenly distressed, glancing back towards the house and pulling away slightly, ‘I left your present inside. Just let me run back inside and get it.’  
Mike grabbed her hand as she turned to leave, shaking his head even as he pulled her in close, his mouth dry, hands feeling sweaty and clumsy, afraid he was going to drop the damn thing. He would never recover from the embarrassment of that, he had to get it together. 

‘No, this is just for you’, Mike said, voice shaking and croaky as he tugged the box from his jeans and flicked it open, holding it out to her. 

The entire world seemed to freeze in that moment, the very air stilling around them as El’s breath caught in her throat, her eyes widening, fingers clenching on his arm, her nails digging in through his jacket, her entire body beginning to shake uncontrollably. 

‘Mike…’ she whispered, lifting wide and dazed eyes to his, feeling like she was about to burst from the happiness rising inside her before her eyes darting back to the ring that seemed to twinkle up at her, the pink stone inside, her favorite colour, a perfect oval sitting on a ring of gold. 

She felt her heart began to race in her chest as Mike dropped to his knee in front of her in the snow, his face almost ablaze with determination and his eyes so full of love El felt tears begin to pool in her eyes at the sight. 

Mike pushed the nerves aside, his fingers trembling on the box he held up to her and began to speak, the words pouring out, a question that he had known from the time he was thirteen years old he would one day ask the girl in front of him. The girl he’d found in the rain who had changed his entire life. 

‘El, I’ve been in love with since before I even really knew what that feeling was or meant. From the second I met you I was fascinated by you and I couldn’t get you off my mind. With every day and every tiny thing I discovered about you that first week I fell more and more for you until it was like my heart was no longer mine anymore. It belonged to you and has been yours since then. I’ve only fallen more and more for you each day and I know that I will love you for the rest of my life. I don’t know what the future holds but all I know is that as long as we have our little family, I’ll never want anything else. It was always you. Marry me, El, be my wife. Be my forever.’ 

El’s chin wobbled as she looked down at him and felt everything inside her soften as her eyes meet Mike’s soft, dark ones, so full of love and fear. A feeling of rightness spread through her body as she reached down and cupped his face in her hands, a trembling smile curving the corners of her mouth as she watched his eyes grow wet. 

‘Get out of the snow, you mouth breather,’ she sniffled, tugging on his arms until he was standing in front of her, ‘You’ll get sick.’

Mike could only stare at her, holding his breath as he waited for her answer, feeling like he was barely breathing, the anticipation and fear and nerves almost killing him. He knew, he just knew, that this was the most important moment of his life, that her answer would either destroy him forever or give him forever. 

El leaned forward, her cheeks wet and flushed against his as she brushed her lips against the corner of his mouth, drawing a crooked smile from him that made her chest loosen slightly, hating seeing him so nervous. As if he was doubting her answer. Silly, Mike, she thought, caressing the line of his jaw, back and forth, trying to reassure him without words, nerves of her own stirring to life inside her stomach. 

Her chin trembled as she began to speak, tucking a curl behind her ear, hands shaking slightly, taking a deep, shuddering breath. 

‘Mike, you were my first friend, the first person to show me any kind of kindness in this world…’ she said, her eyes going misty, the half-smile he loved curving her lips as her mind drifted back to that first night in the woods, when she emerged into the light of their flashlights, drenched and shivering, terrified, and how he’d put his jacket around her shoulders even though he knew he’d get soaked, his words and hands gentle and reassuring even as she flinched away from him, ‘It’s okay, I won’t hurt but we should keep you warm.’ ‘You were my first kiss, my first and only love. We did everything together, learnt everything together. I can’t imagine any world where I don’t love you, where I don’t want to be with you. If your heart belongs to me, mine is yours, has always been yours. Of course I’ll marry you!’ 

‘Yes?’ Mike said, his eyes widening, barely able to believe the words he was hearing, even as his face split into a giant smile. 

El’s eyes filled with happy tears as she nodded, a brilliant smile spreading across her cheeks. The nerves and fear faded completely, as if they had never existed, as Mike let out an excited yell, scooping El up into his arms, spinning her even as he pressed his lips to hers hard, the kiss sweet but also almost desperate, all their emotions, joy, love and hope pouring into that one kiss, in the brush of their lips, that single imprint of skin against skin. 

El laughed against his mouth, her curls flying around her head, feeling almost dizzy with the overwhelming burst of happiness that rushed through her, feeling so light and happy she was sure if they weren’t holding onto each other they would simply float away. Like the only thing holding them to the ground was each other. 

Mike dropped her back to the ground gently, holding her tight to his chest as he ran his knuckle along her cheek, grinning so wide his cheeks actually ached, staring down into bright brown eyes as she reached up to brush at his wet cheeks when he hadn’t even known he was crying. He took her hand gently in his, holding it out in front of them as he fumbled with the box, taking the ring out, both of them holding their breath as he slipped it onto her the third finger of her left hand where it fit perfectly, sparkling cheerfully in the muted light, finally where it belonged.

‘You’re my fiancé’, he said, completely stunned, placing a hand on his chest where his heart was still slamming against his ribs. 

‘And you’re mine. No getting rid of me now,’ she joked, her fingers tangling into the hair at the back of his neck, laughing when he groaned, leaning down to press his forehead to hers, closing his eyes on a wave of pure contentment washed over him. 

‘As if I’d ever want to. No going back now, El. This is forever.’ 

El sighed, kissing the very top of his nose with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

‘Sounds good to me.’ 

They slowly made their way back to the house, in no hurry, walking towards the muffled laughter and warmth that beckoned from inside the house, the cheerful lights on the Christmas tree lighting up the snow outside and their glowing faces, hands entwined, knowing their friends waited patiently for them inside to come back and celebrate the holidays, unaware they would soon have something else to celebrate, and open presents together. This was their family, the family they’d stitched together over the years, from when Mike befriended Will on the very first day of school, to when a group of boys wandering through the woods looking for their lost friend had found a soaked, terrified girl who held so many dangerous and wondrous secrets inside her and took her home with them, kept her safe and showed her kindness for the first time in her life. And then came the jaded and lonely red-headed girl who put on a prickly front to hide how truly hurt and alone she felt who they befriended and who became their zoomer, the friend who would always stand up for them when others picked on them, not afraid of a fight or interdimensional monsters or of "borrowing" her brother's car, or their beloved babysitter's, car whenever they thought the occasion called for it (almost every Friday night), who the other girl didn't get like at first but soon became the friend she knew she could tell anything too and who would stand by her no matter what. Friend's that had stood together through petty fights, jealousy and moments of the deepest grief. It was a family filled with so much love, unfailing loyalty and years of friendship that had created a bond that was truly unbreakable, and now they had their daughter, a child they had never expected or planned for but who they loved more than they could have possibly imagined, a child their love for each other had created.

As they reached the front door, Mike stopped and looked down at El, grinning as she stopped and raised an amused eyebrow at him, the half-smile he had fallen in love with when he was just thirteen, what seemed like only yesterday and yet a lifetime ago at the same time, twitching at the corner of her mouth. He couldn’t resist leaning down and pressing his lips to hers once more, El kissing him back just as eagerly, her fingers twining into the strands of black hair at the side of his head as his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her in until her toes were hovering off the ground

She laughed, pressing her forehead to his, feeling his lips stretching into a grin against her own and, as they looked into each other’s eyes, they both silently thanked the universe for this, for their second chance together, their chance to have the life they’d always dreamed of, and for the little bit of Christmas they had felt in the air surrounding them the last couple of days, the magic that had surely brought them back together.

**Author's Note:**

> What did everyone think? I'm dying to know your thoughts. Please let a review or comment below. Katie xx


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